MAXINE GORDON looks back at the changing face of York's centre

YORK is forever changing. Not a day seems to go past without reports of a new development being planned or a shop about to change hands and become something else – most likely a restaurant or bar, or even a hotel or block of flats.

Newspapers, they say, are the first record of history. Perhaps someone, one day in the future, will look back at today's stories to help them piece together what York was like in 2019.

Happy, we can access our photography archive to see how York used to look in days gone by.

I particularly liked two of the pictures we are sharing today that show what York was like before Stonebow – some 70 years ago.

It's particularly timely given the current redevelopment of Stonebow House and news that the first business inside the new-look building, Supersonic Fitness, has opened its doors to customers. A new indoor food market is to follow suit.

In the first photo, dating from April 1949, we can see the Old George Hotel and the disused studio next door that were shortly to disappear to make way for the new road from Pavement to Peasholme Green.

In the second picture, we see a view from Parliament Street looking along Pavement. This street scene has altered substantially since the early 1940s when it was taken. On the left of the frame, you can see the Old George Hotel and Geoffrey's Photographers, which were demolished to clear the area for the creation of Stonebow.

The double gabled timber-framed shop in Pavement is Thomas Herbert's house and it has been occupied by many businesses in the past years, including Curry's Cycle and TV shop, Clark's shoes and Jones' shoes.

One thing you notice in these other pictures of York from the 1950s and 1960s is the abundance of cars in the city centre.

As you can see, Parliament Street was a glorified car park, while people didn't think twice about parking around King's Square.

Car parking was banned in Parliament Street in March 1974