With just three years to go until Sheffield hosted the World Student Games, preparations were well underway, and the construction of Ponds Forge leisure complex led to an unexpected discovery.
In the year Steve Davis clinched his fifth World Snooker Championship title at the Crucible, Sheffield’s Ski Village also opened and proved a big hit.
The Ski Village is sadly no more but Meadowhall, which became the UK’s second largest shopping centre when it opened two years later in September 1990, is still going strong, as is Crystal Peaks.
This retro photo gallery captures life as it was back in 1988, including a much-missed nightclub, a meeting of two Sheffield legends at Bramall Lane, and the creation of a world record-breaking Yorkshire pudding.
These nostalgic images are taken from The Star’s archives and from Picture Sheffield.
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1. Sheaf Valley Swimming Baths
Sheaf Valley Swimming Baths seen from Pond Street Bus Station in 1988, with the Claywood Flats in the background | Picture Sheffield Photo: Picture Sheffield
2. Big discovery
A giant anvil is rediscovered while digging out the site for Sheffield's new Ponds Forge swimming pool in August 1988 | Sheffield Newspapers
3. Crystal Peaks
Crystal Peaks Indoor Market in August 1988 | Picture Sheffield/Sheffield Newspapers Ltd Photo: Picture Sheffield/Sheffield Newspapers Ltd
4. Old Queens Head
Christine Smith, landlady of the Old Queens Head pub, Pond Hill, Sheffield, on December 1, 1988 | Sheffield Newspapers