TODAY marks 50 years since one of the biggest shake-ups Irvine has seen.
On Thursday, October 9, 1975, the Rivergate Shopping Centre opened its doors for the first time.
The developers chosen were Ravenseft and Murrayfield Scottish Development and the construction was carried out by Sir Robert McAlpine and Sons Ltd.
Once operational, it provided space for five department stores and 50 smaller shops as well as a multi-storey car park for 536 cars and a ground-level park to take 450 vehicles.
Work on the £5 million project - which remains Ayrshire's largest mall - commenced in 1973 by Irvine Development Corporation (IDC) and proved a controversial move.
Construction required the closing of Irvine Bridge - a landmark which had been part of the town for centuries.
In its place, a footbridge was built for pedestrians wishing to cross the river at Puddleford Lane, just south of the previous location.
However, this did not prove popular with locals, largely due to the 26-step stairway - dubbed 'heartbreak hill' - which had to be scaled to access it.
Workers constructing the centre often had to down tools to help mothers with prams and older people were frightened to climb it.
More straightforward pedestrian access, as we know it today, was restored once the Rivergate opened in 1975.
But there would be no celebration when the mall doors opened for the first time - with the event passing "unmarked".
Only a handful of shoppers came through the electronic doors at Bridgegate on the first day of trading, with no official ceremony taking place.
That was, perhaps, down to just one shop operating at the time, Arnotts, which was opened on the day by Sir Hugh Fraser.
Despite little fanfare, the development pleased many on their initial visit. Mrs Sarah Gaw, a 76-year-old local, was the first through the door and she described the Rivergate as "just what Irvine needs".
However, not all were impressed, with a Mr Lawson Purss stating the centre "looked as though it was designed by a child playing with a Lego set".
At first, after opening, the mall was only open during shopping hours for security reasons and the Puddleford Lane bridge was used at night.
However, once the bridge was removed, the centre opened 24 hours, leading to issues with vandalism and anti-social behaviour.
Police were originally to have a shop inside the centre but they pulled out of that agreement. Eventually, Ravenseft had to pay for private security between 6pm and 6am during the week and 24 hours at the weekend. The alternative was to spend £60,000 on a new footbridge.
In the months and years after opening, numerous other traders took over many of the spaces within the Rivergate.
Many shops remain filled today, including two stores from the early years - Greggs, which opened on October 13, 1975 and Boots, which started trading on June 10, 1976.
The centre had been planned to be enlarged in 1980, to attach onto the railway station, but this never came to fruition.
Other proposals for the centre that failed to appear included an integrated bus station, cinema, hotel and riverside bar/restaurant.
And who could forget North Ayrshire Council's audacious bid to buy the Rivergate from current owners, US-based property investment firm Kennedy Wilson, who bought the mall in 2013.
The local authority spent £238,000 on plans to purchase the shopping centre for around £55m in 2017.
The proposals, which had long been kept under wraps, were rejected by a majority of elected members during a confidential meeting in December that year.
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