Have you ever wondered what the hexagonal-shaped building at the bottom of the Headrow in Leeds City Centre was for? Andy Hutchinson reveals all.
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00:00 Hi, it's Andrew Hutchinson with the latest edition of Leeds Then and Today.
00:09 Over the years many of you will have wondered what this curious hexagonal building on Eastgate
00:14 roundabout is in Leeds City Centre.
00:20 Why is it there?
00:21 Who built it?
00:22 Did it used to be something?
00:25 Many of you will be surprised to realise that this was once a petrol station dating back
00:29 to the 1930s.
00:33 The building was opened in 1932 having been designed by farmers architect Sir Reginald
00:37 Blomfield who was responsible for the Goldsmiths College building and the layout of Regent
00:42 Street in London.
00:44 The particulars of the listing by Historic England are that the building remains red
00:48 brick with ashlar details, copper and slate roof.
01:02 Apple Yards petrol station opened in 1932 with numerous pumps dotted around the site.
01:08 In many ways it seems strange that a petrol station would be sited in the middle of the
01:12 roundabout but you have to remember that the roads were a lot more quieter back in the
01:17 day.
01:24 This photo was taken in 1967 from the arches at the nearby Quarry Hill flats.
01:31 The flats were the largest social housing site in the country and remained on site until
01:35 demolition in 1978.
01:46 Having been disused for a number of years the former petrol station was the location
01:51 of Leeds' Millennium Fountain in the year 2000.
02:03 Some of the original features of the building remain including these old wooden boards leading
02:08 to the entrances.
02:11 Today on the site alongside the former petrol station is this statue dedicated to the memory
02:17 of Leeds war hero Arthur Arran VC.
02:26 The site was Grade 2 listed in 1996 and now stands empty but remains in remarkably good
02:32 condition.
02:33 Despite the constant development surrounding it the building will always be an emblem of
02:38 the spirit of progress the city saw in the first half of the 20th century.
02:43 I think it's fabulous that this building remains today and has a link to the past with
02:49 the city's transport and other links and will be forever remembered by a generation of people
02:58 who fuelled up back in the day.
02:59 Thank you.