Arundel Gate (Odeon / Fiesta) Pond Street subway / underpass.

[chri5]

Still there but inaccessible. The spiral staircase from Pond Street is gated halfway up and the Tank nightclub occupies the old subway at the top. I took these photos in September 2009, I believe it was sealed off shortly afterwards. If you rewind time on Google Maps street view you can see a notice blocking the stairwell at the Odeon entrance in 2011.

This underpass led out to a covered walkway that stretched all the way around to the top of Howard Street and was a graffiti hotspot. This was sealed off when the Adsetts building was built. You can still see some of the old walkway but it is now a bicycle park for the Adsetts & Owen buildings. 

This underpass also ran underneath Arundel Gate across to the Lyceum Theatre originally but that part was sealed off in the late 80s?

Does anyone have any photos of the old covered walkway?

[Ponytail]

Tudor Way Subway under Arundel Gate 1985.

s44401

There are several images on Picture Sheffield website showing the subways on Arundel Gate from the construction of to the latter years.

Type in:

Arundel Gate Subways

Ones in this series are from s44400 - s44404

 

[Ponytail]

Also there are images of:

Cannon Cinema, Flat Street

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s02713&pos=21&action=zoom&id=6348

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s21387&pos=23&action=zoom&id=23879

Fiesta Cinema, Flat Street. 

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;v05243&pos=60&action=zoom&id=148841

Shops, Pond Street leading to Flat Street. 

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s44679&pos=50&action=zoom&id=128985

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s23933&pos=82&action=zoom&id=26386

Steps to the subway under Arundel Gate from Pond Street/Flat Street

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;t11875&pos=57&action=zoom&id=141950

There was also the Walkway over Pond Street to the Bus Station linking up to the subways under Arundel Gate. 

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s15891&pos=65&action=zoom&id=18642

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;t04106&pos=4&action=zoom&id=34399

To see more type:

Pond Street Footbridges

 

[Viners]

I've noted this in other posts about subways, but I found the various ramps, stairways and passages between Pond Street and the other side of Arundel Gate really handy for getting across the centre of Sheffield. It felt like there were quite a few underpasses etc. around the city centre, including Hole in Road, of course. It felt like you could almost pop up from place to place.

In the 60s and 70s there was a well intended trend in town planning to separate pedestrians from traffic and create all those underpasses and walkways. Inevitably they became dingy, damp, vandalised and felt unsafe at night. They didn't always provide the best access for those that had mobility issues. Now there is less emphasis on keeping traffic moving. The underpasses and walkways have been replaced by traffic lights and multiple crossings in close proximity to each other. 

[chri5]

Sheffield has certainly become more hostile towards cars. Filling in the Furnival Square underpass was unbelievable given the amount of work it took to dig it out. They could have easily remodelled it, made if safer and more accessible while keeping traffic flowing. 

This was recently built https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-36695072 to help ease congestion which reminded me of the old Furnival Square. 

[Bikeman]

On 30/03/2023 at 08:11, chri5 said:

Sheffield has certainly become more hostile towards cars. Filling in the Furnival Square underpass was unbelievable given the amount of work it took to dig it out. They could have easily remodelled it, made if safer and more accessible while keeping traffic flowing. 

This was recently built https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-36695072 to help ease congestion which reminded me of the old Furnival Square. 

I wonder if the horrific accident that occurred in the 1970s made a difference? I was visiting a mate in King Edwards(?) hospital up Rivelin at the time and some survivors of the accident were recovering in the same ward.

[chri5]

On 09/04/2023 at 18:49, Bikeman said:

I wonder if the horrific accident that occurred in the 1970s made a difference? I was visiting a mate in King Edwards(?) hospital up Rivelin at the time and some survivors of the accident were recovering in the same ward.

What happened in this particular accident? I doubt it played a part in it getting filled in though. Another strange one to fill in was the one at the top of the moor. There have been so many people knocked over crossing there I would have thought an underpass would be a priority. 

[History dude]

The problem with the underpass was that they became hang outs for homeless and drug addicts. The one near the Fiesta smelled of urine and another smell that came out of the air conditioning system, which I never worked out what it was. However it made you a bit sick. They were and are scary places for women especially. Despite all the trouble to keep people and cars separate, people still crossed the roads and avoided using subways. Mostly because it was often quicker than using a subway. Especially if you were in a hurry.  I remember people in the 70's going over the Y shaped barriers in the middle of the roads in Sheffield. They used to "goose step" over them. It was funny to watch!  

[Bikeman]

On 17/04/2023 at 12:42, chri5 said:

What happened in this particular accident? I doubt it played a part in it getting filled in though. Another strange one to fill in was the one at the top of the moor. There have been so many people knocked over crossing there I would have thought an underpass would be a priority. 

If I remember rightly, a car was speeding and managed to overturn. They were only young lads, as always seems to be the case.