Rare photograph captures lost hotel, restaurant and bakery on city street

A rare image captures a moment on a Liverpool city centre street over half a century ago. Today, Mount Pleasant remains home to some of our cities oldest buildings and sees hundreds of pedestrians every day - whether that be people heading up to the University of Liverpool campus and the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral or visiting local businesses.

It was recently announced that a new restaurant serving Detroit style pizza and craft beer, named Holy Garage, is to open on Mount Pleasant in a Grade II Victorian building once used by the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). One image, courtesy of our archive, is bound to stir some memories of how the area used to be.

Recently rediscovered, the 56-year-old photograph shows what the lower section of Mount Pleasant looked like on December 4, 1968. It mainly features the Regent Hotel, which first opened in the city back in 1938.

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On June 22 that year, an ECHO advertisement said the "entirely new and well fitted hotel" boasted 27 luxurious bedrooms, "each with hot and cold water". Many will remember it wasn't the only historic hotel on this end of the street.

A stone's throw away was The Shaftesbury Hotel, which dated back to 1872 and in its latter years became known for featuring in 1985 romantic comedy Letter to Brezhnev. In the 1990s, the hotel became The Mount Royal Hotel and more recently part of the site was home to a Tesco branch.

In the photographs, you can also see the Walkers Warrington Ales sign for The Beehive pub. At the time the photograph was taken, next door to the pub was the New Yorker Steak Bar.

The businesses features in a number of job advertisements printed in the Liverpool ECHO between 1966 and 1971. Standing out with its white shop front signage is also a Cousins Confectioners branch, which was once a familiar fixture across the region.

Selling everything from delicious cakes and Danish pastries to Devon Whip, sandwiches and more, many will remember the large Cousins corner sign in Lord Street that was a major feature in Liverpool city centre until the takeover by Liverpool One. The company's factory was also on Woodend Avenue in Speke.

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Founder Mr Ernest Gibson moved to Liverpool from Ireland when he was 17 and after returning from active service in 1946, opened his first bakery shop in Aigburth Road, where the baking was done above the store. Many will remember also spotting Cousins shops in Walton Vale, Penny Lane, Scotland Road, Stanley Road in Bootle and Hillside Avenue in Huyton.

This image is bound to stir some memories for generations who remember the handful of businesses photographed here. As for the Regent Hotel, the hotel stopped operating under that name in the early 2010s. Today, it is home to hotel The Liverpool Inn. But many will remember Mount Pleasant as it is seen in the 1960s.