Homes were torn down in the 1960s to make way for the Westgate Centre.
But memories of those days have been preserved, thanks to the Urbansuburban history project in 2016, and a second project the following year.
While the area was referred to as the 'slums of Oxford' by some, its residents angrily refuted this title.
The Urbansuburban book, researched by historian Rachel Barbaresi, is bursting with colour photographs and real stories of the neighbourhood of St Ebbes.
Dozens of former residents contributed pictures and memories and joined a launch party at Oxford Town Hall.
Shops in St Ebbes in 1954
One of them was Lois East who grew up in St Ebbes and revealed she did not have a bathroom.