SO you think nothing ever changes in York? Think again.

In the first part of Yesterday Once More this week we feature a series of photographs from Explore York's brilliant 'Imagine York' photographic archive which show the city in a state of transition.

There are three images showing the laying of tramlines for the city's 'new' electric tram system in 1910 (an experiment that was, sadly, to be all-too-shortlived, since the trams were phased out in 1935); a photograph of the cleared site off Clifford Street where, in 1890, construction was about to begin on the new magistrates court; York's 'new' public library in 1926; a photograph of dilapidated buildings on Walmgate taken by the York Health Department, probably before the major slum clearance programme of the 1930s; and a photo from 1929 showing work going on at the Blue Bridge.

We're not quite sure what this work consisted of, sadly - but we'd love to hear from any readers who do, or who can shed more light on any of our photographs today.

Here are more details about each photo, taken from the captions that accompany them on the Imagine York website:

1. Men working on the lines for York's new electric tram system on The Mount in 1910. Photo taken by the city engineers

2. The laying of lines at the Holgate Road/Blossom Street junction for York's new electric tramway in 1910. The shop on the left hand corner is No. 68 The Mount, which was John William Bentley's grocery shop. No. 2 Holgate Road was occupied by Hattee George's newsagents and No. 4 by William Trowsdale, who was an umbrella maker. The photo was taken by the city engineers

3. This photograph shows the laying of tram lines in Station Avenue for the new electric trams which came to the city in 1910. Several men are posing for the picture - they may be the engineers or members of the city council who were inspecting the work. Photo taken by the city engineers

4. The site of what are today the magistrates courts on Clifford Street. Construction of the court building began in 1890. Look carefully and you can see the River Ouse in the middle distance, with barges lined up along the far bank and some of the warehousing visible, including warehouse sbelonging to a guano, oilcake and seed merchant

5. The 'new' public library which was built in Museum Street by local firm F. Shepherd and Son in 1926. It cost £25,600 and was possibly one of the first large projects which the firm undertook. The land had previously occupied by livery stables. The ruins of St Leonard's hospital are to the left.

6. These dilapidated buildings are Nos. 99 and 101 Walmgate. The photograph was taken by the city's Health Department during a survey of inadequate housing.

7. The Blue Bridge, possibly in 1929 when some work was undertaken in this area.

  • All the photos on these pages, and thousands more, are held on Explore York’s wonderful Imagine York archive. You can browse it yourself for free just by visiting imagineyork.co.uk/