Date with History: Sneak preview given of gallery extension

THE public got a sneak preview of the underground extension to the National Gallery of Scotland this week in 1978.

The Evening News printed fascinating pictures of the attraction, two weeks ahead of its official opening.

"One and a half million pounds worth of steel floors, bronze walls and the most technically-sophisticated lighting is now wedged, almost hidden, between the National Gallery of Scotland and the railway lines overlooking Princes Street Gardens," the article read.

The building had taken ten years to complete, with designers, engineers and builders facing many obstacles along the way, the main one being that an extension to the gallery would have to be done underground.

They were hemmed in on one side by Princes Street, on the other by Waverley Station and on the remaining two sides by an Act of Parliament protecting Princes Street Gardens.