The Headrow is an avenue in Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of the most important thoroughfares in central Leeds, hosting many of the city's civic and cultural buildings including Leeds Town Hall, Leeds Central Library, Leeds Art Gallery, The Henry Moore Institute and The Light. Some of the largest retail floorplates in the city are on The Headrow, particularly between Park Row and Briggate, where major chains have opened flagship stores. The Headrow is part of a longer axis that includes Westgate, Eastgate and Quarry Hill. The Headrow forms a spine across the city centre between Westgate and Eastgate and is approximately ½ mile (700 m) long. It was widened between 1928 and 1932 in a redevelopment designed by architect Reginald Blomfield primarily as a way of improving traffic flow through city centre. The area has an advisory speed limit of . The section between Park Row and Briggate is reserved for buses and taxis and cars/motorcycles are not permitted to use it between 5am and 10pm. History Appearing on maps in 1560, the Headrow once formed the northern edge or "head" of medieval Leeds' boundary, hence its name. To the east the street crossed Sheepscar Beck, a tributary of the River Aire now culverted, and continued, known as "The Street", to York. In the 17th century it was renamed Parke Lane, Burley Bar, Upper Head Row and Lower Head Row. Renamed again in the 19th century, at the junction with Albion Street the street ran to the east as Upperhead Row and Lowerhead Row and to the west as Park Lane and Guildford Street - once home to St Anne's Cathedral which was demolished in November 1904 and relocated to Cookridge Street. More recently, running east-to-west, the street became Eastgate, the Headrow and Westgate, though portions of Park Lane remain at the far end of Westgate. Developments included the construction of Permanent House, the headquarters of the Leeds Permanent Building Society, Lewis's department store and the Odeon Cinema which opened as the Paramount Theatre. Headrow House was constructed in the 1950s. The redevelopment is designed in a uniform neo-baroque style similar to Regent Street in London also designed by Reginald Blomfield. The buildings are clad in red brick and Portland stone as opposed to Portland stone only on Regent Street. The development of the Headrow as a road-widening scheme meant that the north side was