PICTURE the past with a fantastic exhibition of photographs charting Luton’s history from the 1930s to the 1990s.
‘Luton Photographs’, an opportunity to view rarely-seen images from the archives of our sister paper, The Luton News, runs at Wardown Park Museum from March 18 to July 10.
Visitors can see how familiar shops and businesses have altered and grown, while others have disappeared altogether, and spot the many celebrities that have visited the town over the years, including Sir Alec Guinness, Lord Baden Powell and The Beatles.
Luton’s community spirit down the decades will be clear to see, with pictures of Luton Girl’s Choir, Luton Town Football Club and the town’s signature industries of millinery and car manufacturing.
Key events such election campaigns, the protests against apartheid in 1960 were captured by our snappers, as were unusual occurences such as the llama at the Alma, a cycling chimpanzee and an escaped wallaby.
Wardown Park Museum houses about 1.5 million negatives, mostly from The Luton News and its sister papers, including the Saturday Telegraph, Evening Telegraph, Tuesday Pictorial and the Dunstable Gazette.
Museum volunteer Cathy Sammon, who helped set up the exhibition, said: “Photographs capture many episodes of our lives, evoking happy and sad times.
“I’ve selected photographs which have brought back memories and made me smile. I hope visitors enjoy them too.”
Talks by the exhibition’s curator take place on Thursday April 14 and Thursday April 28 at from 2.30pm - 3.30pm. To book a place, call 01582 546722.