There is now a pedestrian crossing on this busy road but in the past residents and shoppers could choose to go below ground level to safely cross this street by using a subway that had a distinctive piece of artwork.
The Watford Observer has again teamed up with its friends at Watford Museum to look back at structures, objects or businesses from the town’s past that have either disappeared or been relocated and this week we recall an underpass beneath Exchange Road.
The museum’s volunteer archivist Christine Orchard said: “In May 1976, art students were at work painting decorative murals on the walls of a subway under Exchange Road.
- The road that leads to a well known supermarket
- When Bradley Walsh went back to his old school
- When a new underpass opened 50 years ago
“It linked the two parts of Market Street which had been split by Exchange Road when the ring road was built.
“The underpass has since been filled in and a proper pedestrian crossing installed - even before its removal many people used to cross here at street level anyway.
“One mural that people might recall was like a mirror. It was above the tunnel entrance and ‘reflected’ the scene of Market Street behind the camera.”
Visit the Museum Facebook page or website www.watfordmuseum.org.uk to see more historic photos.
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