Toyota Building demolition: 7 landmarks built before 1985 that shaped Sheikh Zayed Road

Drive along Sheikh Zayed Road today and you will see Skyscrappers on both sides. Hotels, offices and homes line the road, which is now one of Dubai’s best-known areas. Go back 40 to 50 years, and it looked very different.

There was open land on both sides and only a few buildings. Some of those buildings are still standing. Others have been demolished and can now be seen only in old photos.

Khaleej Times looks back at some of the buildings that stood along Sheikh Zayed Road before 1985.

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The Nasser Rashid Lootah Building was built in 1974, long before Sheikh Zayed Road was filled with towers.

The 15-storey residential building later became known as the Toyota Building after a large Toyota sign was put on its roof in 1981. The sign became so well known that residents began calling the whole building the Toyota Building.

More than 50 years later, the building is still standing. It is now being vacated and will be demolished, but management told Khaleej Times that there is no demolition date yet.

Al Rostamani Twin Towers were built in 1977. At the time, there were only a few tall buildings in the area. The two towers became part of the small group of buildings along the road.

Sheikh Rashid Tower at Dubai World Trade Centre opened in 1979. At the time, much of the land around it was empty. The tower stood out and became one of Dubai’s best-known buildings.

The original tower is still standing today, but the area around it has changed.

The Trade Centre Apartments were also part of the World Trade Centre development. They were among the early buildings in the area and are still standing today.

Old photos show how easy they were to spot at a time when there were few buildings around them.

The original Metropolitan Hotel opened on Sheikh Zayed Road in February 1979. At the time, there were few buildings farther down the road towards Abu Dhabi.

The hotel stood there for more than 30 years. It was demolished in 2013, and the site became part of Al Habtoor City.

The Dubai Hilton was another building seen in old photos of the World Trade Centre area. The hotel stood close to the Trade Centre at a time when there were few large buildings around it. The building was demolished in 2007.

More buildings started to appear along the road in the early 1980s. One of them was Wafa Tower, also known as Emirates Pink Tower.

The building is still standing today and is one of the older towers from that period.

The age of these buildings is only part of the story. What makes them special is how much the area around them has changed.

Someone looking out from one of these buildings in the 1970s would have seen open land and only a few buildings.

Today, the same view would show Metro tracks, roads, hotels, offices and towers stretching along Sheikh Zayed Road.

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