Hole in the Road!

liam_s1 · 02-05-2007, 04:05

"Hole in the Road!" they all screamed, leafing through a Sheffield calendar from the 1970s.

I am living here since September and loving it and want to know more about this lovely city.

Tell me about the hole in the road?!

angle20 · 02-05-2007, 06:07

It was a secret underground city. Well actually a pedestrian subway area located near to what is now the Castle Square tram stop.

debsutd · 02-05-2007, 07:09

there were several subway tunnels that all led to the middle of the hole in the road, there was a fish tank in the wall in the centre, it was the safest way to cross the road from many different areas in the centre of town

mr chris · 02-05-2007, 07:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by angle20

It was a secret underground city. Well actually a pedestrian subway area located near to what is now the Castle Square tram stop.

Actually it was directly underneath what is now Castle Square tram stop. More of a glorified underpass.... it had a fishtank in the wall and everything. Classy!

Some more (but not much) info

Womerry2 · 02-05-2007, 07:40

It also had fabulous acoustics, like a whispering gallery, best experienced in the very early hours of the morning.

sccsux · 02-05-2007, 07:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by liam_s1

Tell me about the hole in the road?!

It was dispersed (ie made into lots of little holes, which were distributed throughout the city - hence the pot holes) when the tram system was imposed on us.

Craig7777 · 02-05-2007, 08:00

Hole in road was a breeding ground for Vagrants, Creeps And Wierdos

liam_s1 · 02-05-2007, 08:11

Cool, cool. Thanks everyone!

And what are your memories of it? In teh staff room they spoke in awe of it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig7777

Hole in road was a breeding ground for Vagrants, Creeps And Wierdos

This is what I heard too, that it got rough and dodgy and had to go?

chri5 · 02-05-2007, 08:14

they'll dig it out again, mark my words.

Bilge · 02-05-2007, 08:16

there's at least one big thread on it on here somewhere

Craig7777 · 02-05-2007, 08:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by liam_s1

Cool, cool. Thanks everyone!

And what are your memories of it? In the staff room they spoke in awe of it!

This is what I heard too, that it got rough and dodgy and had to go?

I heard it used to be decent before sheffield started turning to sh*t in eighties, i remember been a young lad probably five or six and getting eyeballed off kids aged 15, 16 under their

Ousetunes · 02-05-2007, 08:35

Although the subject has been covered in depth elsewhere.....,

In the early to mid nineteen seventies, the 'Hole In The Road' was quite ahead of its time and was a bit of a showpiece. It was actually an exciting place to visit as a youngster (to a five year old such as me).

In the days when society didn't trash its surroundings, it was a well maintained, clean shopping environment in which whilst passing through, the idea was that you might stop and spend a little time there.

As anyone familiar with Sheffield pre-nineteen eighties will tell you, the main attraction of THITR was the fishtank which was inserted into one of the green-tiled walls. Many a child could be seen running toward it with excited eyes, their shopping laden mothers trying to keep up!

There used to be a superb floral display in the middle of the 'hole' and I think there used to be hanging baskets. On a sunny day the flowers would be illuminated and it was a very pleasant place to be.

You could access shops from each corner of THITR. There was a newspaper 'cabin' and I think a (workman's) cafe. At one point (in the mid-to-late eighties when the place had become a toilet) there was a place where you could take your films to be developed. There were also vending machines in the walls serving drinks and so on although my memories of these is that like the escalators one would use to enter or exit THITR, the longer the decade wore on the less they worked.

Shops' displays looked good at night when the place was lit-up. It was part of the council's then superb Christmas decorations, trees lined atop the circumference (and thus visible to folk at ground level), a display of some sort where the summer flowers had been.

It was a time when people took pride in their city and had respect for the buildings and surroundings. The nineteen eighties saw the place descend into a cesspit, it stunk of urine and became awash with rubbish. It became a place you avoided, night and day.

Though I feel its filling-in was a missed opportunity, the hard facts remain that the place was a smelly, unwelcoming eyesore which over time had become an embarrassment.

mr chris · 02-05-2007, 08:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ousetunes

Although the subject has been covered in depth elsewhere.....,

In the early to mid nineteen seventies, the 'Hole In The Road' was quite ahead of its time and was a bit of a showpiece. It was actually an exciting place to visit as a youngster (to a five year old such as me).

In the days when society didn't trash its surroundings, it was a well maintained, clean shopping environment in which whilst passing through, the idea was that you might stop and spend a little time there.

As anyone familiar with Sheffield pre-nineteen eighties will tell you, the main attraction of THITR was the fishtank which was inserted into one of the green-tiled walls. Many a child could be seen running toward it with excited eyes, their shopping laden mothers trying to keep up!

There used to be a superb floral display in the middle of the 'hole' and I think there used to be hanging baskets. On a sunny day the flowers would be illuminated and it was a very pleasant place to be.

You could access shops from each corner of THITR. There was a newspaper 'cabin' and I think a (workman's) cafe. At one point (in the mid-to-late eighties when the place had become a toilet) there was a place where you could take your films to be developed. There were also vending machines in the walls serving drinks and so on although my memories of these is that like the escalators one would use to enter or exit THITR, the longer the decade wore on the less they worked.

Shops' displays looked good at night when the place was lit-up. It was part of the council's then superb Christmas decorations, trees lined atop the circumference (and thus visible to folk at ground level), a display of some sort where the summer flowers had been.

It was a time when people took pride in their city and had respect for the buildings and surroundings. The nineteen eighties saw the place descend into a cesspit, it stunk of urine and became awash with rubbish. It became a place you avoided, night and day.

Though I feel its filling-in was a missed opportunity, the hard facts remain that the place was a smelly, unwelcoming eyesore which over time had become an embarrassment.

That triggered a few memories - especially the christmas trees. I remember it being a bit grotty, but by that time it was the mid 80s and the city centre was going downhill fast...

I think we need a heyday - like the beginning of the Full Monty!

Nabsdabs1@ti · 02-05-2007, 09:03

Hole in the road ??? I HAVE HEARD THAT THE COUNCIL ARE LOOKING INTO IT !!!!!!!!! Did you see what i did there ?????

think i need

medusa · 02-05-2007, 09:06

A few other threads about the hole in the road:

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=61423

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2524

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=93510

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=105727

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=837

JohnM · 02-05-2007, 18:22

I can remember walking through it, and staggering back though a few hours later after visits to Rebels (long lost metal club bizarrely owned by the folk that went on to run Niche)... I seem to recall a really dodgy take away hatch.. and of course... the fish tank...