But these photos show what could have been, both within the city centre and beyond, had grand plans drawn up for development in Sheffield over the years actually materialised.
From a futuristic monorail shuttling passengers above The Moor, to indoor ski slopes and a new shopping centre, these proposals for major projects all eventually fell by the wayside.
Are there any you wish had materialised, or is Sheffield better off without them?
1. MixCollage-03-May-2024-04-34-PM-1614.jpg
These are just some of the grand plans for major new developments in Sheffield which have been abandoned over the years Photo: Various
2. Four-star hotel opposite Sheffield station
A four-star hotel with 200 bedrooms was planned opposite Sheffield station, on the site of Sheffield Hallam University's old Nelson Mandela Building, on Pond Street. A planning application for the development, which would also have included offices, restaurants and cafes, along with a basement car park, actually got the green light back in 2007 but construction never started. Photo: CTP St. James/Aedas Architects Ltd
3. Sheffield Tower
This building would have become Sheffield's tallest - in this case rising to 37 storeys on Sheaf Street, where it would have soared above visitors arriving at Sheffield station - had it ever been constructed. Sheffield Tower, as it was called to keep things simple, was proposed by Sheffield Hallam University in 2018 and would have featured a five-star hotel, 200 flats, restaurants and a conference hall. But the university said in 2020 that it had tested the market and the proposed tower had not proved viable in the way it envisaged. Photo: Sheffield Hallam University
4. Monorail
Back in the 1970s, a monorail system was proposed for Sheffield city centre. The Minitram, as it was dubbed, would have been a driverless network with small cars each carrying around 15 passengers. It would have linked up the city's shopping districts, operating across two-and-a-half kilometres of track with nine stations. Thousands went to look at the blueprints in a public exhibition at Cole Brothers, which is now John Lewis – but the scheme was abandoned in 1975. Photo: Sheffield Newspapers Limited