Sheffield retro: 22 remarkable photos show how different city centre looked 100 years ago

Some of Sheffield’s most famous streets, squares and green spaces are barely recognisable in these fascinating images taken between 1920 and 1939.

It was a period when great change was already taking place across the city centre, including the construction of Sheffield City Hall, and the demolition of St Paul’s Church to create what would become the Peace Gardens.

These pictures capture the city before German bombs rained down upon it during the devastating Sheffield Blitz, with a new-look city later emerging from the rubble.

The many lost landmarks pictured in this retro photo gallery include the old Crimean Monument, Cinema House at Barker’s Pool, and Cole Brothers department store at the bottom of Fargate.

It is a time which few living Sheffielders will remember, but you may recognise in these photos the Sheffield in which you grew up beginning to take shape.

All the photos are shared courtesy of Picture Sheffield.

What do you think of how Sheffield city centre has evolved over the last century and what changes would you like to see in the future? Let us know in the comments section.