From lost shops to forgotten landmarks, they reveal how different the region once looked, and how much life has altered.
This retro photo gallery will whisk you back through time, from the dawn of the last century to the early 1980s.
The tale of the century unravels in a series of affecting tableaux.
Miners and their faithful pit ponies are seen deep underground, and having a good scrub as they resurface.
Famous department stores, and markets holding countless treasures, are pictured in their heyday, bustling with shoppers, while old swimming pools and popular social clubs of the day feature too.
A football legend is pictured enjoying a backyard kickabout with some youngsters as he recovers from one of the biggest tragedies to hit the sport.
Elsewhere, a young girl uses a telephone kiosk, a man strolls past a row of prefab homes, and smoke drifts through the air as a steam train chugs its way across the city skyline.
If you’re old enough, you may remember watching the animals at Ocean World, and you might recognise the eye-catching house perched on stilts close to the River Wear.
A new supermarket opening, crowds at the beach on a sunny day, a pinball marathon, and drinkers enjoying a pint at the pub are just some of the other memorable black-and-white images.
Do these photos bring back any happy memories for you? If you’re after another slice of North East nostalgia, you might enjoy this look back at the 70s and 80s.

1. 'The Great Sunderland Store'
Joplings, on John Street, Sunderland, in June 1962 | National World

2. Indoor market
Shoppers browse the wares at Hartlepool Indoor Market in 1974 | National World

3. Cheers!
Drinkers in a Newcastle pub in January 1961 | Getty Images Photo: Bert Hardy Advertising Archive

4. Backyard kickabout
Manchester United star Bobby Charlton gets back into gentle training with some young fans in the backyard of his home on Beatrice Street, Ashington, Northumberland, in February 1958. He was recuperating from injuries sustained in the Munich Air Crash, which killed many of his teammates | Getty Images Photo: Keystone