The Corn Exchange Leeds - Shopping in Leeds, Shop in Leeds!
Leeds is the shopping destination in the north of England, with its impressive Victorian shopping arcades, and all the major high street names. Leeds plays host to the first Harvey Nichols outside London.
Leeds is particularly good for shopping as the centre is predominantly a pedestrian-only area.

The Corn Exchange Building in Leeds, West Yorkshire is one of Britain's finest Victorian buildings and a great architectural heritage of the city of Leeds. The Corn Exchange is a Grade I listed building. Cuthbert Brodrick, a young architect from Hull who won international fame for his design of Leeds Town Hall was responsible for this building.

The first stone of the Corn Exchange was laid on 7 May 1861 and the building was completed three years later in 1864. As time went by following the Corn Exchange closed and the Exchange's condition deteriorated to such a degree that the building itself and the much of the surrounding area became one of Leeds' most run down areas.

Some proposals for the regeneration for this site included turning the Corn Exchange into a concert hall similar to the Royal Albert Hall in London. In 1985, Speciality Shops plc won the contract to re-develop the building as a shopping centre. It opened for trade in 1990. The Corn Exchange now sits in one of Leeds' city centre areas known as The Exchange Quarter.

In November 2007 it was revealed that the Corn Exchange (which had been under refubishment for the past year following being taken over by Zurich Financial Services) was to be converted into a food emporium. The plans brought protests from existing independent traders, who were removed from the Corn Exchange, and their customers.

Following a major restoration project, Leeds Corn Exchange re-opened in November 2008 as a boutique shopping destination for creative independent retail enterprises. The entire 13,200 sq foot ground level is now occupied by a new restaurant venture, the Piazza by Anthony, operated by Leeds-based chef Anthony Flinn. Piazza has been followed by three independent fashion boutiques and creative enterprises, including Hidden Wardrobe Dawn Stretton Dawn Stretton and Outrage. In 2010 they have been joined by Primo's, Russo Italia, Mki and Mummy & Little Me.

Many other old buildings have been restored in this area and, as such, it is now considered a very cosmopolitan part of the city. It is also a congregation point for emo kids and goths. Other buildings in the area have been converted into apartments, plus new developments have added to the variety and vibrancy of the area.