The city’s oldest residents will remember when the river still went as far as where the cenotaph is today.
Others will recall when the centre had well-kept ornamental gardens with neat lawns and flower beds.
Bristol city centre has changed dramatically over the decades and Bristolians of all ages will have their own memories and views of the area. These days, the late 1990s-installed fountains have stopped working are finally due to be removed. Some will say it looked much nicer in the old days.
Here are 12 incredible photos from the archives showing Bristol city centre as it was, going back to Victorian times through to the late 1970s.
1. Lawns
The neat lawns and flower beds on the city centre in the hot summer of 1978. | Colin Park
2. Toilet block
This photo from the mid-1960s shows work under way on the site of the Colston Tower and also the Victorian toilet blocks at the end of the city centre gardens. | Know your place
3. Flag day
Colston Tower was only five years old in this photograph taken in 1978. Does anybody remember what the flags were for? | Colin Park
4. Bird’s eye view
Where Cascade Steps is now, Neptune’s statue stands proud over the water close to the Watershed | Know your place