36 nostalgic photos capture 90s trips to Meadowhall, including lost shops

Meadowhall shopping centre was the UK’s second biggest shopping centre when it welcomed its first customers on September 4, 1990.

The £250 million, 1.5 million sqft mega-mall forever altered the shape of shopping in Sheffield, attracting nearly 20 million shoppers in its first year.

It marked a major shift in the city’s economic landscape, replacing Hadfields’ East Hecla Works, amid the ongoing decline of the UK steel industry.

Nearly 36 years later, Meadowhall itself has changed considerably.

Fewer than two dozen of the original 280 stores remain, with the make-up of the centre’s shops, cafes and restaurants having shifted in line with the latest fashions.

Marks & Spencer, H Samuel, KFC and McDonald’s are among the few survivors from Meadowhall’s open days.

The shops that have come and gone include a large Sainsbury’s supermarket, a Hamleys toy store, Debenhams, Top Shop, Top Man and Miss Selfridge.

This retro photo gallery takes you back to the early years of Meadowhall, from shoppers pouring in on the opening day to celebrity book signings and big Christmas lights switch-ons.

Lost shops, restaurants and cafes are pictured, including some of the people who worked there, and families are seen enjoying some retail therapy.

Do these photos bring back any memories for you of trips to Meadowhall in the 90s? What do you think of how Meadowhall has changed since then, and how it has changed Sheffield?

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