Swansea, like most cities, has seen some huge changes over the past thirty years, with more yet to come.
As Gen Z come of age, good-old-fashioned pubs and cafes are being replaced with craft breweries and hip vegan eateries that seem to put avocado in everything - and 'clubbing', otherwise known as 'out out' in the Gen Z lexicon, has become an entirely different ballgame than it was in the nineties.
Gone are the days when anything you needed could be found in a shop in town - and when 'fashion' meant a matching tracksuit, huge earrings and a perm.
Read more:
26 pictures of Swansea that will take you right back to the 1990s
We've taken a look at all the ways Swansea has changed since the nineties and noughties to see what people miss the most. You can read more Swansea stories here.
The old Kingsway
When you ask many Swansea folk what they miss most about the city, a straight-up answer will often be - the old The Kingsway.
Back in the nineties and noughties, The Kingsway was one of the busiest streets in the city centre, home to nightclubs, cafes and retail units.
Clubs in The Kingsway included Martha's; Ritzy's; Quid's Inn; Whispers; Flares; Central Park and The Valbone - each with its own distinct personality and loyal customer base.
We do have Wind Street today, but most people who partied in the clubs of Kingsway will tell you it simply doesn't compare.
It wasn't just nightclubs either. Cafes and fast-food joints like McDonald's were also beloved in The Kingsway.
These days, the street is home to the Coppergate student accommodation block, and there are plans in the pipeline to transform it into a business district, including with a large, glass building on the site of the old Oceana.
You can read more about the glory days of Oceana here. And find out here about how we all used to go to Jumpin' Jaks for cheap booze and the 'sex positions game'.
And if you'd like to remember Crazy Gary, the legendary 90s DJ at Time, Envy, Cinderellas and every other Swansea nightspot, we have a write-up on him here.
The underpass
In fairness, the underpass at the eastern end of The Kingsway never felt exactly 'welcoming', but some of us still miss it, nonetheless - particularly given that The Kingsway road layout seems to change so often you never quite know which way to look when crossing the road.
The underpass often stunk of cider and urine, but it was at least a traffic-free means to cross The Kingsway.
Find images from Wales's past here:
Let's not reminisce too much about the former underpass though: at one point, anti-social behaviour there had become so bad that mirrors were put up by the Safer Swansea Partnership to allow people to see if anyone was loitering in the tunnels before they entered.
The work was carried out as part of a £1 million facelift funded by European money under a scheme called 'Objective One'.
And we must not forget another popular underpass - the one from Somerset Place to the bottom of Wind Street.
Starting just opposite Morgans Hotel, The Victoria Road underpass arrived near the La Braseria restaurant, having safely delivered you beneath four lanes of traffic. You would often find a busker in there, playing a tune to help you on your way, including a woman who would play a piccolo-type instrument, or was it a recorder?
It disappeared in 2011 when Swansea Council decided to turn the road into a boulevard with wide pavements and large pedestrian crossing points.
There was also the underpass in Westway, Swansea. Near Tesco, it was popular with Swansea City fans heading to the Vetch, probably as a place to relieve themselves of some of the lager they had consumed en route.
When Castle Gardens was actually a garden
As many will know, Castle Gardens used to be an actual garden, rather the gigantic slab of grey-brown concrete. ( The green is set to come back next year, though.)
In the heart of the city, the green space was a huge welcome after breathing in stuffy retail unit air, particularly when followed by Three Lamps pub in Castle Street.
The Three Lamps has since returned, but it's certainly a tad different to its original namesake, with its craft brews and hip menu.
Going to the Quadrant for a Thornton's
Today, town is peppered with decadent dessert places that sell all sorts of sweet goodies, from Nutella-laden fluffy pancakes to huge ice cream sundaes, but nothing will ever beat the satisfaction of a Thornton's ice cream on a Saturday afternoon.
Thornton's outlived many other retailers in the Quadrant, having closed its doors amidst the pandemic in early 2021.
Thornton's aside, the Quadrant has waved farewell to a number of big-name retailers over the years that many of us loved to shop in, including Officers Club, Dorothy Perkins, and Ciro Citterio,
Buying 10 mini pasties for £1 from Ferrari's
Before Greggs was on every corner, Ferrari's bakery in Oxford Street was the best shout for a pasty, cake or sandwich.
The bakery went into liquidation back in 2008, amidst the financial crisis.
As much as we all love a Greggs or Jenkins pasty, the 10 for £1 mini pasties in Ferrari's will simply never be topped.
Jane Norman
This is one for the girls, but the absolute pinnacle of a shopping trip for girls in Swansea in the 90s and noughties would be a trip to Jane Norman in Oxford Street, which is now home to plus-size shop Yours.
Having a Jane Norman bag for school in the noughties immediately placed you at the top of the fashion hierarchy.
Fashion has moved on quite a bit since then, but that's probably a good thing.
Lots more parking in the city centre - or at least it felt like it
Up until the mid-noughties, you'd be able to drive your car into town and park near Wind Street.
The Wind Street/York Street car park also used to regularly be used for fairs, especially around Christmas time.
At other times, it was a handy parking location for Wind Street and the city centre generally.
It has since been replaced by the Salubrious Place development, which consists of a Premier Inn Hotel, Vue Cinema and car park operator NCP.
Once upon a time you could also park in The Kingsway, and most every other street in the city.
The abundance of sportswear shops
Sportswear dominated the fashion scene of the 90s and noughties.
Sports Direct and JD Sport remain in the city centre, but we no longer have the myriad of sportswear shops we had in the 2000s.
JJB, Gilesports and All:Sports would be the perfect place to pick up your Lonsdale or Goodyear trainers, and they always felt far more affordable than the sportswear shops of the 2020s. Today, a trip to a shop like JD Sport can easily knock you back £100 on a single pair of trainers.
Ironically, online platforms like Asos and Depop regularly list the Reebok and Umbro track pants you'd have found in these shops back in the day under the 'vintage' category - yikes.
Vetch Field
An era - need I say any more?
You know the song: Take me to the Vetch Field, way down by the sea... Where I will follow Swansea, Swansea City.
Whether you stood on the North Bank, or were situated in the Centre Stand, East Stand or West Terrace, thousands would flock from all corners of the city to cheer on the Jacks.
The Vetch closed its doors in 2005, and the home of the Swans is now the enormous Swansea.com stadium.
Whizzing about in the gigantic Spacebowl in Swansea Leisure Centre
The new LC is great, with its high-tech wave machine and multiple slides, but if you ever went to the original Leisure Centre, you'll know that it doesn't quite compete with one of that venue's most brilliant features.
The Spacebowl was the highlight for many (I can guarantee you landed upside down every time), as was the alarmingly-fast peashooter slide.
You would emerge into what seemed like the ginormous open space of the Spacebowl from a tube slide, whizz around the edge of it, then drop through the hole in the centre - splash!
Orange Wednesdays
Back in the day, going to the cinema was an affordable trip that didn't break the bank, especially with Orange Wednesdays two for one tickets.
The Orange network is no more, but from 2003 until 2014, all you had to do was text the Orange network and it would respond with a code giving you a free cinema ticket.
In the nineties and noughties, Orange Wednesdays always called for a trip to UCI cinema in Parc Tawe, which has since been replaced with Odeon. UCI boasted ten screens - a big deal, back then - and was only a short walk from MegaBowl.
Blue Light Discos
Ah - the great blue light disco, the British noughties equivalent of a debutante ball, where youngsters from across the city would rock up in their best pair of jeans with £2 in their pocket, ready to dance the night away.
Many of the venues that hosted them, including Time & Envy and Jumpin' Jaks, have since closed, and it's now more common to find teenagers drinking on the town with someone's borrowed ID than in a blue light disco. You can read our nostalgic look-back at the Blue Light Disco scene, complete with 20p soft drinks, foam parties and games of kiss chase, here.
Many will remember sliding around in a foam party with a face covered with luminous paint, and waking up bruised as a peach the next day. Sometimes, venues even hosted popcorn parties, where kilograms of popcorn would be shot out of the huge foam jets. Heaven? Absolutely.
David Evans department store
The former David Evans store was demolished back in 2007 having closed around two years prior.
The famous department store opened up in 1930, and sold leading brands of clothing and perfume.
It was replaced by a shopping development which included Slaters Menswear and fashion chain Zara.
The building has also now been filled by the likes of Coffee #1, Zinco Lounge, Cocina and Tiger.
In it's day it was famous for its chimpanzee parties and visits from celebrities like Noel Edmonds.
Swansea Slip Bridge
The Swansea Slip Bridge was iconic – and is one of the few remnants from the Victorian/Edwardian era following a long period of de-industrialisation and Swansea’s devastation in the Second World War.
It was a response to the dangerous slip crossing to the beach and a fixture on the Swansea skyline for almost a century.
But it fell into disrepair, with the span being removed and never replaced.
Having spanned the seafront Mumbles Road since 1914, it was controversially taken down in 2004.
The bridge was initially taken down to be checked, but it quickly became apparent the removal might be permanent.
But there is hope a replica slip bridge could one day return.
The slide and talking tree in Children's World
Children's World, which later became Mothercare World, was located in Parc Tawe and had some amazing attractions inside for kids.
As well as selling a range of children's clothes, shoes, toys, baby products and nursery furniture, it had a play area, hairdresser and a snack bar.
Best of all, as far as many youngsters were concerned though, were its massive slide and talking tree.
Pick 'n' Mix at Woolworths
In the 90s and beyond, there was no better place for a cheeky Pick 'n' Mix than Woolworths (we've all known that one person who'd pop a strawberry lace or lump of fudge into their mouths before paying for it, too!)
Wilko's across the road still has a Pick 'n' Mix, but it'll simply never compare to the kola cubes, fried eggs and foam bananas on offer at Woolworth's.
Woolworth's was much more than that, too, it also sold CDs, decent children's toys and other food goodies.
The shop closed in 2009, and it's been sorely missed ever since.
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