A march through time

I walked back from the Art Gallery to the rail station in Leeds along Park Row - and, for me, it was like taking a march through time. This long street effectively has always separated the shopping/retail sector of Leeds from the business/financial district. It was traditionally where many of the banks had their main branches. There are still a few banks and finance houses but many of the buildings have now been converted into restaurants and bars. 

Where the nostalgia lies, for me, is that this street was where I first worked on leaving university - and that is a shocking half a century ago! I even find it hard to recall exactly which building I worked in. I think it was this one:

It's now a Wetherspoon's pub but back in the day it was part of National Westminster Bank. My first job was a temporary role in an office that dealt with import and export payments to France. I even had to speak (halting, schoolgirl) French on the phone to counterparts in Europe. It was a fascinating introduction to the world of work and they offered me a permanent role but my heart was set on working in personnel. After a few months I managed to get a job in HR with the Yorkshire Electricity Board and my stint in Leeds city centre came to an end. Probably just as well - the lure of shops on the doorstep wasn't too good for my very tiny bank balance as I started adult life. 

Everything changes and there is a lot of building work going on in Leeds. Victorian stone is preserved but, in the spaces between, steel and glass predominates. The station end of Park Row opens into City Square. The magnificent Post Office building is also now restaurants, though some of the bronze statues of the great and good remain, gracing the Square since the turn of the 20th century.  Those below are James Watt, the engineer and John Harrison, a local cloth merchant and benefactor.