East Side of St James Square, Edinburgh

Category

Library Item

Item no

18126

Title

East side of St James Square, Edinburgh

Description

The view looks across an open area towards a row of tenement buildings. There are business premises at the bottom of the buildings and people can be seen loading goods onto a small truck. In front of the housing is a small park area with trees that is fenced by railings. In the foreground similar metal railings provide gated entrances to the properties.

Artist / maker

Smith, John

Date

1927

Size

16.2 x 21.7 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

This is a photograph from the book 'Origin, nomenclature and location of various houses and streets in Edinburgh'. The St James Centre is situated on Leith Street, close to the east end of Princes Street in Edinburgh. The building takes its name from James Craig's St James Square which occupied the site until its demolition in 1965. The St James Centre was opened five years later and comprises a shopping area, the Thistle Hotel, a car park and New St Andrew's House, occupied until the late 1990's by the former Scottish Office. The development was faced with substantial public opposition at the time, and continued to be a somewhat controversial building.

The St James Centre complex, with the exception of John Lewis, was demolished to make way for the St James Quarter development, designed by Allan Murray Architects. The retail centre, which opened on 24 June 2021, has more than 80 shops, a food hall and a variety of restaurants. A cinema is also due to open, as well as the 12 storey W hotel with its controversial 'ribbon' design, an aparthotel and 152 apartments which are expected to be completed in 2022.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Railings

Homes > Residential buildings > Tenements

Landscape > Landscape architectural facilities > Gardens

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Plants > Trees > Trees

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