Throbbing Commercial Road – the place to be on Saturdays

Here, we are of course looking north along a very busy Commercial Road in 1964 with the Arundel Street junction on the right.

The crossing was so busy with traffic and pedestrians a policeman had to be on duty to get everyone across the road in safety.

When Commercial Road, Portsmouth, was the place to be on a Saturday afternoon. This was 1964. Picture: Mick Cooper collection | Other 3rd Party

placeholder image — When Commercial Road, Portsmouth, was the place to be on a Saturday afternoon. This was 1964. Picture: Mick Cooper collection | Other 3rd Party

The open-ended buses were great for jumping on and off and passengers used to travel on the platform when the bus was full although quite illegal of course.

Look at the hundreds of people crowding the pavements. John Collier (the window to watch) on the corner has a sale on. There was an Evening News stand on the corner where I – as a 10-year-old, I kid you not – sold papers on a Saturday.

A look along the much-loved and much-missed Lake Road towards Kingston Road, Portsmouth. Picture: Mick Cooper collection | Other 3rd Party

• In the second picture, we are looking down Lake Road when there were a multitude of shops.

Pete Cross, a true Buckland boy he says, says the third shop on the left was a pet shop and it always annoyed him when they put animals in the window in full sunlight even with a blind.

In the distant corner is the Tramway Arms, the only surviving building. It’s now an Indian restaurant on the corner of what is now Turner Road.