Parkinson Steps

Well. These steps are an iconic part of Leeds, it has to be said. My first instance of sitting upon their solid blocks was during my freshers week, as it is most students who arrive in Leeds, at the start of the freshers ball. The only two icons that I knew to look for at the time were the «yellow boat on the grass» (Drydock) and the Parkinson steps. Not a bad place at all, if you need a little recuperation. Good times!
This is of course a standard meet up for many newcomers to Leeds and serves many as a decent lunch spot, weather permitting, although realistically there’s not a whole lot more can be said than that. The building itself is a lovely structure, and with so many delightful indie coffee shops and eateries nearby this is the perfect place to come and have a good procrastinate, with book or similar.
It also makes a distinctly more comfortable waiting spot for the buses to arrive, and can oft be seen seating many an unbrushed stude with papers or friends.

For students at Leeds Uni the Parkinson steps (often abbreviated to ‘Parkie steps’) are the perfect meeting place because everyone knows where they are. And for anyone else, the building is notable by the fact you can see its clock tower from almost anywhere in Leeds, so if it was a convenient place to meet it would be easy to direct anyone there. The building itself is striking and grand and the chunky stone staircase adds gravitas to its entrance.
It’s rare (other than in summer) to see the steps and the area around them without a good few students sat smoking, chatting or waiting for a friend. Flyerers often dominate the nearby pavement, especially in fresher’s week, promoting the latest club night or students’ drinks offers. This hustle and bustle could probably lead non-​students to stick firmly to the opposite side of the street, but it’s intriguing to think that this busy, jovial atmosphere has been present here since the fifties when the Parkinson building was built. It has also been the setting of many a student demonstration over the years, providing a grand focal point visible to the general public in which many issues have been raised through a variety of simple protests and creative, theatrical and attention-​grabbing stunts. I suspect it will remain a hub of student life for many decades, or even centuries to come!

In true post-​modernism, this location is multiple and ever-​changing in its identity, different for every passer-​by or each time they encounter it. It appears to be the outside of a building but is in fact so much more. It is a place to have lunch at midday, a cigarette break in mid-​afternoon, catch a taxi at midnight or pick up flyers for the weeks events as you pass on the way to a lecture. It is a predominantly student space but as its opposite so many good cafes there is no harm using the space in the post-​graduation years eating a tasty sandwich and getting on your high horse about students taking over the world now you are not one.

If you don’t go to Leeds University you might not ever get to experience the lunch time rush on the Parkinson steps. Not only are the steps every Leeds student meeting place but during the summer they take on a whole new purpose.
If the sun is shining, even just a little bit, you can be certain that these steps will be heaving with students. The steps manage to face the sun in that all important 12 — 2pm slot. Meaning if there is a little bit of sunshine you get it directly on your face and for a little while you can forget the harsh Leeds winter.
There are a few reasons to visit the steps even if you don’t attend University there. Firstly it’s a great place to admire some of the more washed and gorgeous students that happen to hang around on the steps. Whenever I have been eating my lunch here there is always at least one fit guy hanging around. It is a great place if you are looking for ideas for a night out as there always seems to be someone handing out flyers. At night time it is also a taxi rank so if you have been out clubbing the night away you carriage awaits.