Lost Edinburgh: West End

Published on 27/07/2012 18:25

Though Edinburgh’s West End has lately been bedevilled by the city’s ongoing tram works, the landscape of the area does not appear to have changed radically - at least not at first.

On closer inspection, however, some subtle structural differences between the two photos can be identified.

The most obvious change is seen on the left - the building that now stands as the House of Fraser department store was formerly known as Robert Maule’s, which was also a department store at the time of the photo - 1899.

The building has undergone radical changes - not least the distinctive dome at the top of the building.

Maule’s made way for Binn’s department store in 1931, which was subsequently taken over by Frasers in 1953, although the name on the face of the building was not changed until the 1970s.

Eagle-eyed observers will notice, beyond the building now known as the Rutland, that the top of the Caledonian Hotel is absent. The hotel was not built until 1903, four years after the photo was taken.

• To view more images of Edinburgh’s past visit Lost Edinburgh’s Facebook page