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Princes Street Late-1950s |
Between South St David
Street
and
South St Andrew Street
including Jenners Department
Store at
47-52 Princes Street
©
Any reproduction requires
prior permission of Edinburgh City Archives
Photo from Edinburgh Street Lighting Collection SL/90/8
Photo Ref. Photo Illustrations (Scotland) H18/1
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Princes Street |
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Lamp Posts This photo comes from the Edinburgh Street Lighting collection of photos held in the Edinburgh City Archive. The photo was taken presumably to show the lamp standards in Princes Street, following the removal of the old tram tracks after the trams stopped running in 1956. |
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Building Work The BOVIS building work here (at Marks & Spencer?) may give a clue as to when this photo was taken.) |
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Question 1. Dan Hertzfeldt |
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Dan Hertzfeldt wrote: |
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Lamp Posts "I presume the large lamp posts running down the middle of Princes Street were installed in 1956 or 1957 after the removal of the trams. But do you happen to know when these particular lamp posts were themselves removed from Princes Street?" Dan Hertzfeldt: September 22, 2011 |
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Reply to Dan If you know the answer to this question, please email me, then I'll pass on your message to Dan. Thank you. Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: September 22, 2011 |
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Reply 1. Steven Oliver |
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Thank you to Steven Oliver who replied: |
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Princes Street Lamp Posts "The Princes Street, the lamp posts in this photo were removed around 1968. They were replaced by wall-mounted floodlights on the shops side and by railing-top lanterns on the Gardens side west of the Mound. The railing-top lanterns are still there today, albeit running a different light source in place of their original mercury lamps. I suspect that the floodlights on the shops side of the street will have been renewed several times since they were originally installed." Steven Oliver, Duns, Borders, Scotland: September 22, 2011 |
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Reply 2. Gus Coutts Duddingston, Edinburgh |
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Thank you to Steven Oliver who replied: |
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Supports for Tram Cables "I think the posts in the centre of Princes Street in this photo are the ones which doubled up as supports for the overhead cables for the trams. If you click on the last 2 thumbnail images in the 'More Photos' section at the foot of this page, you can see what look like the brackets for the cables below the fancy ironwork for the lights. These lamp posts are far easier on the eye than the monstrous poles erected for our current trams fiasco."
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Lamp Posts Removed "As far as I can remember the posts were removed in the late 1960s or very early 1970s to be replaced by lights mounted on the buildings which at the time seemed to produce an amazingly bright almost daylight effect compared to the old lights." |
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Gus Coutts, Duddingston, Edinburgh: September 23, 2011 |
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Reply 3. Steven Oliver |
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Thank you to Steven Oliver who replied: |
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Princes Street Lamp Posts "Gus is correct: the lamp posts in the middle of Princes Street also acted as supports for the overhead tram wires. These were also used in Leith Walk and Craighall Road." Steven Oliver, Duns, Borders, Scotland: September 25, 2011 |
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More Photos Princes Street Shops Around 1957 Below are a few photos from the same collection as the photo at the top of this page. All photos look to the east along Princes Street. The photos appear below in the order that the views would be seen by somebody walking east from the West End of Princes Street. |
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Charlotte Street to Castle Street - including Moffat Photographers at 126 Princes Street |
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Castle Street to Frederick Street - including Mackie's Shortbread at 108 Princes Street |
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Frederick Street to Hanover Street
- including Marcus Furs at 97
Princes Street |
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Hanover Street to South St David Street
- including Jenners Department Store at
47-52 Princes Street |
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South St David Street to South St Andrew Street
- including Old Waverley Hotel at 43
Princes Street and |
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