An array of photographs in the offices of Sligo Corporation depicting the banks of the River Garavogue "before" and "after" the introduction of urban renewal schemes offers a contrast to beat even the most extravagant advert for cosmetic surgery. Transformation is a term wholly justified.
In black and white, the Sligo of pre-1993 looks depressingly bleak: old tumbling warehouses, grain stores and abattoirs back on to a mucky river bank. It was an area parents warned their children to stay away from.
Turn to the next wall-chart and you can't even recognise a single landmark. Brightly-coloured new buildings face on to the river; trees and seats line a pedestrianised walkway; a footbridge spans the river; cafes and shops abound.
It's a whole new world, and one with which most Sligo people are well pleased, despite reservations about the quality and architectural merit of several of the new buildings.
Given the scale of investment it is not surprising that the town's physical appearance has changed so dramatically. The corporation estimates that between half and two-thirds of the town centre has been refurbished. Since 1993 investment under urban renewal schemes in Sligo has amounted to £120 million. This represented a dramatic turnaround from the previous five years, when urban renewal investment was less than £5 million.
Sligo Corporation is credited with starting the development. Mr John O'Dwyer, an administrative officer with the corporation, says the local authority had to counter initial "negativity" in the private sector. It commissioned the National Building Agency to draw up an action plan for land alongside the river, incorporating Rockwood Parade and Tobergal Lane, which connects the river bank to O'Connell Street.
The corporation then had to act as "honest broker" in complicated negotiations involving 20 property owners and resulting in 15 land transactions. The local authority had previously bought the river bank.
"It acted as an enormous catalyst for other developments. It was seen as a test of public and private partnership, and it worked," says Mr O'Dwyer.
Private developers got involved in the project, and the first premises started opening early in 1996. The corporation spent about £650,000 on a footbridge to link the area with other parts of the town and on other general improvements, including a new railing, paving, seats and trees.
The result is now labelled the Left Bank or Temple Bar of Sligo, with coffee shops, restaurants and bars taking advantage of the riverside location. In summertime, the cafes extend their tables on to the pavement in true Parisian style.
Businesses continue to open along both banks of the river - another large bar is nearing completion and a hotel is due to open in the spring. The development has also brought a new population of apartment dwellers to the town centre.
Mr Sean Martin, a Sligo Corporation architect, says the development has brought the river back as a focus in the town and as a natural amenity to be enjoyed by the people. Sligo takes its name from the "shelly river", which the town had turned its back on for too long, he says.
Businesspeople are also confident that the development increases the overall attractiveness of the town both for shoppers and tourists. In terms of shopping, Sligo has lagged behind other towns of its size and traders are aware that people often opt to go elsewhere for greater choice.
The director of the Sligo Chamber of Commerce, Mr Brian Carty, welcomes the area's rejuvenation. "The more attractions and facilities you have the better - it will bring more people into the town. It has a `Left Bank' quality about it and is seen as a flagship development for Sligo and provides another point of interest. We couldn't imagine life without it now," he says.
Any problems associated with the development are not unique to Sligo. Architectural principles sometimes went out the window in the rush to make the deadline for urban renewal schemes and in developers' determination to make maximum profit. Some locals fear that many of the new buildings will not age well.
Others regret that a stone frontage was not used to retain some of the character of what was there before. Given the site's potential, it is argued that an opportunity was missed to create an architectural showpiece.
The quality of some of the buildings could undoubtedly be better. Apartments were obviously designed with a transient population in mind. Given that apartment living is likely to become more of a feature of life in Ireland's urban centres, it is questionable as to whether they should be built without windows in bathrooms and kitchens and with balconies which are "for decoration only".
Mr David Lawlor, an architect who worked on some of the Tobergal Lane buildings, says the time factor in the developments meant design suffered. "Shortcomings are obvious on some sites where things went very quickly. That was the nature of the urban renewal schemes - everything had to be done quickly, but quality design takes time," he says.
Qualified architects were not used on all the developments or were retained only in the initial stages to secure planning permission, he says.
Mr Lawlor says it is important to stress that unlike some urban centres, Sligo has not yet been "destroyed" by urban renewal developments. In general, what has been built is not offensive. He says that to avoid compounding errors already made, a "level playing pitch" is required for all new developments - setting regulations on density, site coverage and plot ratio.
Millbrook, one of the newer developments built right on the edge of the river further upstream, has come in for particular criticism for being "overdense", although this has not prevented the 70 apartments incorporated into it from being snapped up.
Given the frantic pace of development, the debate rages as to what should be kept and what should be built. The Sligo Heritage Group this week started a campaign to save a 170-year-old brewery building on Bridge Street, which it says could be demolished if planning permission is granted for a six-storey complex, made up of 51 apartments, 15 townhouses and commercial units. The group is determined to save one of the town's last remaining original industrial buildings.