Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
In the middle of the nineteenth century Edinburgh's reputation as "Athens of the North" was enhanced by the erection of the Royal Institution on the south side of Princes Street, which was built in stages over a period of many years. It was completed in 1836, one year before the beginning of Queen Victoria's long reign which would last for the rest of the century.
Bank of Scotland Head Office
Sitting loftily above Princes Street Gardens, Bank House is an impressive sight, especially at night when it is floodlit.
General Register House
Register House at the eastern end of Princes Street was designed by Robert Adam while he was living in England. His brothers, James and John assisted him at the planning stage and supervised the construction of the building, which lasted from 1774 to 1786. The edifice is built with classical symmetry and features a magnificent central dome. Register House is where Scotland's state records and historical documents are stored.
West Register House, Edinburgh
The former St Georges Church is situated in Robert Adam's Charlotte Square, which he never lived to see completed. The church was built in 1814 to designs by Adam's pupil, Robert Reid, who followed in his masters footsteps when it came to classical styling. Reid also designed Parliament Square around Scotland's original Parliament House which is featured in the 'Royal Mile' page of this site Bute House, Edinburgh
Also in Charlotte Square is the official residence of Scotland’s First Minister, Bute House, which is the centrepiece of a monumental terrace designed by Robert Adam in 1791.
Edinburgh Central Library
The Edinburgh Central Library on George IV Bridge is the only Carnegie library in Scotland's capital city.
The library building was designed by George Washington Browne in the French Renaissance style with much elaborate decoration. If you wish to find out more about the Carnegie Libraries of Scotland you should visit my web site devoted to these fascinating buildings.
McEwan Hall, Edinburgh University
The drinking man has indirectly contributed to Edinburgh's architectural diversity in the form of two halls financed by William McEwan and Andrew Usher.
McEwan Hall in Teviot Place is part of Edinburgh University and serves as the venue for graduation ceremonies and other academic events. The semi-circular classical amphitheatre is crowned with a huge dome over the main auditorium. The intricacies of the structure entailed lengthy building works and it took nearly a decade before it was eventually completed in 1897.
Usher Hall, Lothian Road
Andrew Usher was the benefactor of Usher Hall in Lothian Road which is owned and operated by the City of Edinburgh Council. It is the city's top concert venue and is reputed to have much better acoustics, if not better architecture, than the McEwan Hall.
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland's head office on the eastern side of St Andrew's Square was completed in 1774 as a mansion house for Sir Laurence Dundas. The architect, William Chambers, was also responsible for Somerset House in London.
Dunfermline Central Library
If you leave the city by either road or rail and cross one of the Forth bridges you will arrive in Fife, an historic county with many interesting buildings.
Dunfermline, on the north bank of the Firth of Forth was the birthplace of Andrew Carnegie, and was where he began his library donations.
Clubhouse at Royal & Ancient, St Andrews
The home of golf is also to be found in Fife, further up the coast at St Andrews.
Glasgow & Edinburgh Architecture
In 1844, at the height of the British Empire, William Playfair's original building was further embellished by the addition of an enormous statue of Her Imperial Majesty surveying the crowds in the Capital's busiest shopping street.
Since 1911 the building has been the home of the Royal Scottish Academy, which has a magnificent collection of works by Scottish artists. It is the ideal hiding place for art-lovers with partners who are shopping on the other side of the street!
The restrained Baroque building appears as a completely integrated design but it was built in stages over a period of over 60 years, beginning with Robert Reid and Richard Crichton's original building of 1806. The central copper clad dome, inspired by the dome of Karlskirche in Vienna, as well the side wings were added in the 1860's by David Bryce. The monumental façade set on rock which we see today is a tribute to Bryce's ability to seamlessly adapt a 60 year old building to fashion a totally new composition.
The church is now used as West Register House, an annexe to General Register House, which is illustrated above.
The main feature is the heavily decorated central pediment which is surrounded on either side by 10 decorated bays along the length of the massive palace-like façade which fills the northern side of Charlotte Square.
Bute House hosts meetings of the Scottish Executive’s cabinet and is also used for official receptions and for receiving foreign dignatories. It is a much more suitable venue than the much criticised new Scottish Parliament building, which is featured in my Royal Mile page. The drawing room on the first floor has been carefully preserved and is regarded as one of the best examples of Adam inspired styling to be found in Scotland.
Andrew Carnegie laid the memorial foundation stone on 9th July 1887. Three years later the library was officially opened by Lord Rosebery on 9th June 1890, with the public allowed access one week later.
The front elevation, with the entrance on George IV Bridge is deceptive, as there are actually 4 storeys below the bridge, with the library standing in the gorge below. The elevations below the bridge are completely unadorned.
The architect, Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, had a prodigious output in a variety of styles. He designed lots of churches, monuments, schools and other public buildings throughout the city. His most monumental work was the huge Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Queen Street. He also turned his hand to church furnishings such as the pulpit of St Giles Cathedral and the lavish altar of St Mary's R.C. Cathedral.
McEwan Hall was Anderson's most flamboyant creation, produced with a budget which allowed for extravagance in both its internal and external finishes.
The architectural competition was won by an English architect, J. Stockdale Harrison, whose muted Baroque design fits in well with the local streetscape. The hexagonal structure has 3 main entrances to Lothian Road, each attractively decorated by local sculptors. It is roofed with a flat topped, copper clad dome.
Andrew Usher never lived to see the finished hall which bears his name. He died in 1898, two years after making his donation of £100,000 and 16 years before the completion of the building in 1914.
The Royal Bank acquired the house in 1825 for use as their head office, and later extended to the rear of the building. It is typical of the "New Town" style for buildings constructed at the peak of Edinburgh's Georgian elegance.
The world's first Carnegie library was designed by James Campbell Walker of Edinburgh with a combination of Rennaisance, Gothic and Scots elements.
The library was was officially opened by Lord Rosebery on 25th August 1883, two years after Carnegie had watched his mother lay the foundation stone.
The clubhouse at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews was built in various stages by different architects.
It started off in 1854 as a small single storey building by local architect, George Rae. It was soon realised that the clubhouse was not large enough to serve its purpose. The building was extended in 1866 and and again in 1882 when the upper storey was added. The clubhouse as we see it today was completed in 1900.
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Site created and maintained by Gerry Blaikie
Unauthorised reproduction of any image on this website is not permitted.
All original artwork and text Copyright© G.Blaikie 2002-2008.
