Princess Street Edinburgh_G5A6222 - a photo on Flickriver

            Princes Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile (1.6km) from Lothian Road in the west, to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private cars, with public transport given priority. The street has virtually no buildings on the south side, allowing panoramic views of the Old Town, Edinburgh Castle, and the valley between.

Only the east end of the street is open to all traffic. The bulk of the street is limited to trams, buses and taxis.

History

Princes Street 1825 by Alexander Nasmyth

Princes Street, looking East, c. 1910–1915.

The Balmoral Hotel, originally called the North British Hotel, on Princes Street above Waverley Station.
Princes Street was originally to have been called St Giles Street after the patron saint of Edinburgh. However, King George III rejected the name, St Giles being also the patron saint of lepers and the name of a notorious 'rookery' of slums in London. The street is named after King George's two eldest sons, the Prince George, Duke of Rothesay (later King George IV) and the Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany.

It was laid out according to formal plans for Edinburgh's New Town, now known as the First New Town. These were devised by the architect James Craig and building began around 1770. Princes Street represented a critical part of the plan, being the outer edge, facing Edinburgh Castle and the original city:"Edinburgh Old Town". Originally all buildings had the same format: set back from the street with stairs down to a basement and stairs up to the ground floor with two storeys and an attic above. Of this original format only one such property remains in its original form. Through the 19th century most buildings were redeveloped at a larger scale and the street evolved from residential to mainly retail uses.

By the 1930s the architecture of Princes Street had a very mixed character. The Abercrombie Plan of 1949 proposed tighter control of design to create a more coherent appearance.  This theme was taken up by the Princes Street Panel, whose 1967 report proposed comprehensive redevelopment with Modernist buildings to incorporate a first-floor level walkway, theoretically doubling the shopping frontage. The plan was partially put into operation, resulting in the erection of seven buildings before the approach was dropped in the 1970s. Two of the new buildings, British Home Stores at no.64, and the New club at nos.84–87, are now listed buildings.

During the construction of the New Town, the polluted waters of the Nor Loch were drained, and the area was converted into private gardens called Princes Street Gardens. This was taken over by the Edinburgh Council in the late 19th century, by which time most of the street was commercial and there was no great need for private residential gardens. The width of Princes Street was greatly increased soon after, onto what was the northern edge of the gardens. Due to the much lower position of the gardens this led to the creation of the steep embankment on the north side, still visible today. The gardens are one of the many green spaces in the heart of Edinburgh.

Princes Street was the scene of rioting in 2005 related to the 31st G8 summit referred to in the press as 'The Battle of Princes Street'. Independent media claims the rioting was provoked by police

Taken on: January 29, 2018

Tags:

Princess

Princess Street Edinburgh

Capitol

Cityscape

B&W

Black and White

Scottish Cities

PH3 1FY

2018

winter

Bonnie Scotland « less

Sets appears in: • Edinburgh Capitol City Scotland • Landscapes + Woodland

Groups appears in: • Photography • Buildings/Architecture more » • Compositions • Amateurs • clouds • Architecture-Building & Construction • Flickritis: over 87,000 waiting for a vaccine. • architectural photography • ANYTHING ALLOWED!!!!!! • Scotland's castles • 5 Faves and less than 100 Views (when added) • Historic Places • Scottish Landscapes • Black & White Digital • I Love Black and White! • 'What Digital Camera' flickr group • Clouds, Storms, Sunsets & Sunrises • "Black and White Unlimited" • British Photographers • I Love Scotland • Photography Bay • Black & White Awards • Scotland in Picture • *****Street Photography***** • 100.000.000 Flickr Photos [No AI or SL] • All Street Photography • Amazing Weather (Skies, Nature, Places) • Black & White Done Right !. • Get your photos into Getty Images and get paid! • National Geographic Society • Black & White Long Exposures • ` FLICKR ´ • Photography of Scotland • Colours of Scotland • a photo a week | 52 weeks • B&W Scotland • flickr (unofficial) • Getty Images at Flickr • Awesome Scotland • Getty Images Competition - Concurso Cultural "Fotografe o Brasil • brilliant flickr • Photography with a Story • Canon EF 16-35 f/4L IS USM • Canon Excellence • A TARTAN COUNTRY. • Buildings Galore • Scotland 20 • Photographers in the UK « less

Stats: 12,858 views / 16 comments

Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: