Then and Now: Gateshead town centre, 1955
IT’S fair to say Gateshead is on the up these days.
The regeneration of the Baltic Quays and Trinity Square areas in recent years reflects a town determined to improve itself.
From time immemorial though, Gateshead has pretty much played second fiddle to its larger neighbour across the Tyne.
It suffered bad press as long ago as the 18th century when the famous diarist Samuel Johnson labelled it “a dirty lane leading to Newcastle”.
Today’s pictures show the top end of the Gateshead’s much-changed High Street.
Our main image was taken in 1965 and shows the busy street at the junction of Old Durham Road and Belle Vue Terrace.
In the middle of the picture is the long-gone Argyle pub while, on the right is the Ritz cinema which was knocked down in 1968.
Indeed, Gateshead High Street has undergone massive changes in the last half-century.
Many old buildings were demolished to improve access to the Tyne Bridge, or for new junctions and fly-overs.
The demise of the Ritz came in the same year another cinema - the Essoldo - bit the dust, while the Odeon stopped showing films in 1975, before it became a bingo hall and was finally demolished in 2003.
Meanwhile, as for pubs, in 1895 there were 27 on the High Street, most of which have long since called last orders.