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Subject = "Oxgangs"
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Firhill Drive and Tower Block in Capelaw Court
McGarry, Paul, 1992, Photograph
Item
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Firhill Drive and Tower Block in Capelaw Court
Firhill Drive and Tower Block in Capelaw Court
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About this image
Related
Location
Category
Library Item
Item no
21930
Title
Firhill Drive and Tower Block in Capelaw Court, looking east 1992
Description
A pathway leads past a streetlight and towards a housing estate on the left. A tall towerblock is situated in a large area of open grass on the right. The grass beside the path is edged by a hedge and a row of trees.
Artist / maker
McGarry, Paul
Date
1992
Size
16.3 x 23.8 cm
Type
Photograph
Location
Edinburgh and Scottish Collection
Before the building of public housing in Oxgangs in the early 1950s, the area consisted of several farms and a number of prefab houses. Prefabs were constructed of aluminium and were partly assembled in factories before being delivered to the site. They were usually detached and had large gardens. In 1964, a programme of demolition of the prefabricated housing began. They were replaced by a new development of maisonettes and 'walk-up' flats of no more that four storeys in height. The tenants of the prefabs were re-housed in the new buildings.
Other new housing schemes in Oxgangs had been completed by 1957 and included a mixture of houses, low-rise flats and multi-story blocks. They provided homes for families, the elderly and young married couples, many of whom had been victims of overcrowding or lived in condemned property. Two of the high rise buildings, Allermuir Court and Caerketton Court were demolished in 2006.
Exhibitions with this item
Whose Town? Hugh Cairns
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Related subjects
Homes
>
Residential buildings
>
Flats
Homes
>
Residential buildings
>
Tower blocks
Places
>
Edinburgh areas
>
Oxgangs
Places
>
Scotland
>
Edinburgh
Plants
>
Trees
>
Trees
Transport
>
Infrastructure
>
Street lights
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