The 1960s were an incredibly busy decade for the city of Sheffield. The iconic and much-missed subterranean roundabout the ‘Hole in the Road’ was constructed, featuring pedestrian subways, shops and the fish tank.
Sheffield also saw the completion of Park Hill, Hyde Park and Kelvin Flats, as well as Gleadless Valley and Callow Mount tower blocks, and Stannington’s Deer Park flats – all built in a decade that saw the demolition of slum houses across the city.
Fargate welcomed the completed Goodwin Fountain, which was to become a beloved city-centre meeting place, and was immortalised with the line "Be there 2 o'clock by the fountain down the road", in the song Disco 2000 by Pulp.
While we are on the topic of music, Peter Stringfellow also opened the famous King Mojo Club (1964-67) on Pitsmoor Road, which would play host to numerous legendary 1960s touring acts. Jimi Hendrix, Ike and Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd, The Who and Small Faces… and that’s just getting started.
The city and region also played host to multiple performances from the ‘Fab Four’ from Merseyside (although it was still technically Lancashire at this time), The Beatles.
One thing for sure is that the late Peter Stringfellow and Sheffield played a big part in the history of the ‘Swinging Sixties’.
Also in this gallery, you’ll get to see pictures of the Tinsley Viaduct which was finished in 1968, a unique two-tier road bridge that helped to reshape the city’s transport links alongside the now-gone Blackburn Meadows’ cooling towers.
It was also the end of an era as Sheffield’s last traditional electric tram finished active service in October 1960, marking the end of an era for public transport – until the Supertram would decades later arrive with a technologically superior, but much smaller in scope, transport network.
Do you remember putting a penny on the tracks as the last tram approached?
Take a look through today’s retro gallery on Sheffield from years gone by.
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49. Hole in the Road
Sheffield's newly-completed Hole in the Road subway and roundabout at Castle Square pictured in around 1967 | Fox Photos/Getty Images
50. School crossing
A police officer on school crossing duty in Sheffield in 1968 | Picture Sheffield/SCC
51. Penny Farthing
Mrs Brenda Coukham of Ridgeway Road, Sheffield, is assisted by Mr C.Keeton and young cycling enthusiasts as she practices on a penny farthing for the Lord Mayor's Parade, on May 20, 1968
