Shoppers of the 80s and 90s lost downtown subways will remember

In the 1980s and 1990s, a now-defunct underground made the heart of Liverpool easier for commuters and shoppers.

In the mid-nineties, Lime Street underwent a major transformation – from the redevelopment of the station to the demolition of the adjacent Concourse House. At the time there was also an underpass that ran under Lime Street directly to St Johns Shopping Centre, which many will remember using.

In 1967, work on the pedestrian subway began during a period of considerable redevelopment of Liverpool city centre, which included the building of the St Johns Shopping Precinct. The tunnel under Lime Street, while traffic continued to flow overhead, was deemed impassable, so the subway was cut from the roadway in sections and then covered, the Liverpool ECHO previously reported.

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Before its official name was chosen, many ECHO readers wrote to the paper to suggest names for the subway. Some gave a nod to the city’s history, including King John’s Way, a reference to King John’s Charter that founded Liverpool in 1207, and Codman’s Way, after the Codman family who ran Lime Street’s Punch and Judy show for over 130 years.

Other suggestions included Lime Kiln Way, Sublime Way, Whackers’ Way, Judy Jigger, but the official name was eventually chosen by Liverpool Council, who called it the Market Subway. But some saw this as a missed opportunity to choose a name more connected to Liverpool’s heritage.

One angry ECHO reader said: “The name Market Subway chosen for the subway under Lime Street lacks originality or style. Why not make it the ‘Sublime Way’, which gives it a bit more class and at the same time reminds us what street we’re walking down?”

However, Market Subway didn’t stick and very few people remember its official name. Pedestrians could access the tube directly outside Lime Street station via a long ramp or set of stone steps.

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The subway ran under the flowing traffic of Lime Street and pedestrians could then take an escalator directly into St Johns shopping centre. Originally, the subway itself was designed to be an interesting ride and not just a tunnel, with spaces for shops to occupy.

But things did not take off very well as shopkeepers took units inside the metro. By September 1971, only three of the five units were leased, with shop owners demanding rent reductions as the number of people using the subway was far below expectations.

With work on the St Johns precinct still ongoing, there were also issues at the subway exit. Additionally, there were reports of theft and vandalism in the secluded underpass shortly after the first store opened.

In January 1974, the Liverpool ECHO ran a story under the headline “Fear stalks the subways”. The chairman of Liverpool and Bootle Police has commented that the city’s subways pose a threat of vandalism and robbery.

It was reported that the chairman had been asked to ask the police at a council meeting to keep a special watch on the pedestrian tube at Lime Street station. Also, a tobacconist in one of the subway units was given free rent for a year after having to install shutters to combat vandalism.

Interviews on the subway by the ECHO immediately after the president made his comments found that women, in particular, were afraid to use the tube after the shopping center closed for the night, leaving the underpass in “semi-darkness”.

From the 1970s to the late 1980s, several incidents of subway crime, including theft and robbery, were reported in the Liverpool Echo. However, many people also remember the subway for its characters, and especially for those who frequented it.

The Tube was eventually closed as many areas of Liverpool city center were transformed during the Capital of Culture in 2008. As the Lime Street Gateway was redeveloped, the underpass to St Johns was closed and filled.

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