Plenty has changed in Watford in the past 50 years but there are some instantly recognisable features that remain from that era that many residents may wish had never been built at all.

When a Watford Observer photographer took these photos at the start of July 1975, the high street flyover, underpass linking Rickmansworth Road with St Albans Road, and the subway from High Street to Hempstead Road were relatively recent additions to the town’s infrastructure.

They were opened in 1972 and 1973 as part of the biggest reshaping of the town in its history which also included the creation of the ring road.

A traffic warden talks to a man with a scooterA traffic warden talks to a man with a scooter (Image: Watford Observer)

Whether the alterations changed Watford for the better is a subject of considerable debate that has gone on ever since, but they have become firmly established as part of everyday life.

Shoppers make their way through the subway by the Town HallShoppers make their way through the subway by the Town Hall (Image: Watford Observer)

Take a look through these pictures from our archive that were taken on a sunny day approaching a half-century ago.

Emerging back into the sunlight at the top of High StreetEmerging back into the sunlight at the top of High Street (Image: Watford Observer)

It was a quiet time on the approach to the Town Hall roundaboutIt was a quiet time on the approach to the Town Hall roundabout (Image: Watford Observer)

A woman pushes her pram on the edge of the ring road past what would become Charter PlaceA woman pushes her pram on the edge of the ring road past what would become Charter Place (Image: Watford Observer)

Approaching the subway from the Hempstead Road sideApproaching the subway from the Hempstead Road side (Image: Watford Observer)