Merrion Centre, Leeds

Merrion Centre

The southern entrance of the Merrion Centre, as of 5 May 2007
Location	Leeds city centre, Leeds, England
Opening date	1964, 2008 (Refurbished from a fire)
Closing date	June 2007 (Old centre closed from a fire)
Owner	Town Centre Securities (formerly Leeds City Council)
No. of stores and services	90
Total retail floor area	800,000 ft² including none retail areas.
No. of floors	2 (main retail area only) The centre has 20 floors of office space.

The Merrion Centre in Leeds, England, is a shopping centre opened in 1964. From construction to the present day the centre has been owned and managed by Town Centre Securities. Originally open air, the centre had since had a roof installed during the 1970s onwards. It is an early example of a mixed-use development including offices, car parking, retail (including a Morrisons supermarket) and entertainment including a bowling alley, a nightclub and several public houses. Currently most retail in the centre is aimed more towards the budget end of the market which means the centre is especially popular with working-class people and students. The Merrion Market area featured a range of independent stalls, shops and cafés ranging from mainstream but downmarket to idiosyncratic, but it has been closed to make room for The New Front, an area backing onto the arena which contains restaurants, cafès and leisure facilities.

The centre had originally included an Odeon Cinema when it opened, however this closed in 1977 following a screening of Gone with the Wind. It remains empty and unused to this day only opening occasionally for events such as Heritage Open Days. The cinema inside is notable in the fact that other than the removal of the seating, it is unchanged since closing with original operating manuals and film posters in place and is admired by fans of 1960s and 1970s culture. The ground floor entrance is opposite the entrance to Morrisons and has been blocked up and replaced with cash machines.

One of the nightclubs within The Merrion Centre was the now-legendary 'Bar Phono' originally known as Le Phonographique, widely reputed to be the birthplace of the Gothic subculture. A pillar was located in the middle of the dancefloor which is what caused the unique goth two steps forward two steps back dance.