Centenary of city landmark

The square is home to many sculptures

City Square in Leeds is 100 years old this week.

To mark the occasion, the city council is holding an exhibition in the square telling something of its history.

City Square has undergone considerable changes since 1903, mostly to cope with new traffic layouts.

In 2002 it was extensively redesigned by the civic architect in Leeds, John Thorp.

City Square is the first part of Leeds visitors see as they leave the railway station.

The open space became available by the demolition in the 1890s of one of the cloth halls.

I wanted to try and find what people remembered about the square John Thorp Civic Architect

It was designed by William Bakewell from ideas put forward by local businessman TW Harding.

Mr Harding wanted City Square be a space where works of art would be on display and it is dominated Thomas Brock's equestrian statue of the Black Prince.

Mr Thorp's redesign includes a new water feature as well as moving the position of many of the statues.

He told BBC Radio Leeds: "I wanted to try and find what people remembered about the square and how they appreciated it.

"I then wanted to balance that sense of heritage with 21st Century life."

The exhibition in the square includes a four-minute documentary made by students from Royds School in the city.

They scoured the archives and used the facilities at South Leeds City Learning Centre to piece together the square's life.

Councillor Elizabeth Minkin, who has responsibility for City Square, said: "We want as many local people as possible to come and celebrate City Square's birthday and take the opportunity to look back at its fascinating history."

The exhibition runs until Saturday.