Changing face of Liverpool city centre and the shops we’ve lost along the way – Liverpool Echo

Liverpool has always been a great city but over the years it has changed dramatically.

As trends change and time moves on, it can be hard to remember what the city centre used to look like.

From the closure of Littlewoods and Woolworths, to more recent changes, like the development of Liverpool ONE and the demolition of the Futurist Cinema, parts of the city are unrecognisable today.

To see just how much it has changed, we took a look back in our archive at different sections of the city and some of the stores which have now sadly closed their doors.

Liverpool ONE opened in 2008 and completely changed the city centre.

Paradise Street, North and South John Street and sections of Church Street were all transformed by what was called the "Paradise project".

Photos from our archive show just how much the area has changed since the early 2000's, including the car park, bus station and Moat House which aren't around today.

Coopers is remembered by many shoppers for the distinct smell of coffee running through the air.

The butchers and bakers come green grocers, was a popular spot with shoppers and had a second home on Bold Street.

It remained on Church Street until the early 1970s, when it was replaced by the former WH Smith's site which is now home to River Island.

It's hard to remember a time without Primark on Church Street - but before the fast fashion retailer opened its doors in 2005 the site was home to Littlewoods.

Littlewoods is one of the biggest names in Liverpool business history, with owner John Moores starting the company in 1932, when he launched a mail order shopping business.

The first Littlewoods store officially opened in 1937 but it wasnt until after WWII that the company came to Church street.

Today, Littlewoods is known by shoppers as an online shopping catalogue, based in Speke.

The buildings in St George's Place were once home to a range of different shops and a popular Chinese restaurant.

Illuminated with colourful signs, the Victorian buildings advertised everything from Manns and Double Diamond beers, to Schweppes, Martell and even the Co-op.

Today, they have been replaced by St Johns Shopping Centre and the Holiday Inn.

The original St John's Market opened in 1822 and soon became a landmark for visitors to the city.

The vast building between Great Charlotte Street and Market Street, designed by John Foster junior, was divided into five huge shopping avenues.

However, it could sadly not survive Liverpools 1960s building boom.

The building, along with many streets around it, was cleared and its site eventually became the St Johns Shopping Centre.

While that centre was being built, the market moved to a temporary new home on Great Charlotte Street, opposite Blacklers store.

Eventually the market moved to its current home in the St Johns Shopping Centre which was reopened by the Queen in 1971.

The iconic market underwent another transformation in summer 2016 when it closed for a 2.5m revamp. This renovation saw the market grow by a third from 90 stalls to approximately 120.

Dating back to 1921, The Futurist cinema was demolished in 2016 to make way for a 39m redevelopment.

The cinema had stood derelict for decades after it showed its last film on Saturday, July 17, 1982.

The redevelopment of the block saw the cinema and surrounding buildings replaced by a hotel, student accommodation and a Lidl store.

Designed by artist Anthony Brown, the facade of the building tells the story of the history of the street, from the Futurist to the Yankee Bar, the National Milk Bar and even Marks & Spencer.

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Before 2008 the front of Lime Street station featured an arcade of shops and an office tower block.

In July 2008, the shops and tower block were demolished and work began on creating the new station frontage and redeveloping the area.

The Lime Street Gateway project, cost 35m and was completed in October 2010.

The station front looked completely different back in the early 2000's, with shops blocking the entrance to the historic station.

Bold Street has a thriving independent scene, with restaurants selling food from around the world.

But just over a decade ago, the street was dramatically different from what it is today.

As photos taken from our archive show, at one time the street had more retail shops than restaurants.

Stores including Argos, HMV and the Rex Liverpool department store which were based in Radiant House have now sadly closed their doors.

In April 2017, LIV Organic and Natural Food Market opened in Radiant House after the building underwent a 1m restoration.

However, in January, the food market closed suddenly after nearly three years in business, when a bailiff notice was left in the window.

Today businesses situated at the bottom of Bold Street include Taco Bell, The Cat Cafe and The Sweets and Gift Company.

Where John Lewis in Liverpool ONE now stands a Sailors' Home stood in Canning Place for nearly 120 years.

From 1852 to 1969, the building provided board and lodgings, as well as a range of other services, to thousands of merchant seamen before it was demolished in 1974.

The home offered educational and recreational opportunities and was built not only to provide safe board and lodging but also a bank, medical facilities and a register of good character which allowed ship owners to find suitable crewman.

It was the end of an era when Woolworths closed over 800 stores between December 2008 and January 2009, including one in St John's Shopping Centre.

Known to many as Woolies, the iconic store sold everything from clothing and books to games, pick 'n' mix and chocolate fountains.

The St Johns site remained vacant for a number of years after the closure, before it was transformed into a huge Aldi store.

Today the supermarket is popular with students thanks to its location near to Grand Central student accommodation at the side of Lime Street.

The former BHS store on Lord Street closed its doors in August 2016, leaving a big hole in the citys most important shopping street.

After months of speculation and waiting, H&M opened for business in the building in November 2018.

Spread over two floors, the store has clothing, kidswear, homeware and beauty departments.

Prior to the move in 2018, H&M closed its Liverpool ONE branch which was based on Paradise Street to make way for this huge new store.

McDonald's opened its doors in Clayton Square shopping centre on the corner of Church Street and Ranelagh Street, in October 2017.

The site was formerly home to a My Local store, as part of Morrisons bid to create a chain of smaller shops to rival Tesco Express.

The unit, which had previously been a Disney Store, became a convenience store in 2014.

Morrisons sold its M Local stores in 2015 to private investors, who renamed them My Local. But the chain struggled and went into administration in June 2016.

The world's biggest Lush store opened its doors in Liverpool city centre in March 2019.

Spread over three floors, the store is five times bigger than Liverpool's previous Lush store and includes a whole wall dedicated to famous bath bombs.

The store which opened in the former Dorothy Perkins and Burton building on Church Street, also boasts a hair salon, a florist and a perfume library.

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Changing face of Liverpool city centre and the shops we've lost along the way - Liverpool Echo