Look back at Watford High Street before flyover was built

The Watford Observer is delighted to share pictures from the archive at Watford Museum and this week we look back at a view of High Street before the flyover was built.

The museum’s volunteer archivist Christine Orchard said: “Before the early 1970s there was a clear view along High Street where the flyover is today.

High Street before the flyover was built (Image: Watford Museum)

• Wonderful photo of football being played next to a Watford railway line
• A look back at High Street when England won the World Cup
• Memories of houses that made way for a blue glass pyramid

“This image from the late 1960s shows the relatively new Gade House on the right. A white van is turning out of Upton Road into High Street. Opposite this road are the tall buildings of Clements and Millets.

“The buildings with three light colour bands of brickwork nearest the camera don’t exist today.

“These buildings had to be demolished when today's flyover was constructed in the early 1970s.

A modern-day view of High Street from next to Gade House (Image: Google Street View)

“They look slightly different to the rest of the Parade as they had been built a few years later and perhaps demolition was less complex.”

Visit the Museum Facebook page or website www.watfordmuseum.org.uk to see more historic photos.