Edinburgh by Ian Scott Massie
Original Watercolour
28" x 36" Mounted size - 22" x 30" Image size
Available: framed @ £1995, unframed @ £1895
To shop, please click here
28" x 36" Mounted size - 22" x 30" Image size
Available: framed @ £1995, unframed @ £1895
To shop, please click here
THE SCOTSMAN BUILDING
My favourite place for breakfast in Auld Reekie (Edinburgh’s ancient nickname) is the former Scotsman Newspaper headquarters on North Bridge. The bridge runs from the Old Town of Edinburgh to the New Town, passing over Waverley Station and linking the medieval architecture of the Royal Mile to the refined Georgian buildings of Princes Street. When the bridge was built in 1905 an elegant and elaborate tower block 190 feet high was created which became the head office of The Scotsman.
At ground level the printing works thundered, shaking the whole building, and from the wide doors papers were sent out to the local area by van and beyond through Waverley Station just across the road. The middle of the building housed the editorial offices where journalists collected the nation’s news and shaped it into headlines and columns.
Above, at the North Bridge street level were the sumptuous advertising offices: a tour de force of marble and gilt, designed to impress and awe the visitor and client. The space is now the luxurious cafe. If you’re ever calling in don’t miss visiting the sumptuous loos - it’s worth spending a penny. On the way you’ll pass a stained glass window bearing Scotland’s motto: Nemo me impune lacessit - “no one attacks me with impunity”.
And on the roof were pigeon lofts. In the days before mobile phones, this is where carrier pigeons arrived with news and views strapped to their legs, waiting to be transformed into tomorrow’s stories before a second life as fish supper wrappers.
The building is now a hotel which, with the majestic buildings across the road, form an impressive entrance to the old town.
At ground level the printing works thundered, shaking the whole building, and from the wide doors papers were sent out to the local area by van and beyond through Waverley Station just across the road. The middle of the building housed the editorial offices where journalists collected the nation’s news and shaped it into headlines and columns.
Above, at the North Bridge street level were the sumptuous advertising offices: a tour de force of marble and gilt, designed to impress and awe the visitor and client. The space is now the luxurious cafe. If you’re ever calling in don’t miss visiting the sumptuous loos - it’s worth spending a penny. On the way you’ll pass a stained glass window bearing Scotland’s motto: Nemo me impune lacessit - “no one attacks me with impunity”.
And on the roof were pigeon lofts. In the days before mobile phones, this is where carrier pigeons arrived with news and views strapped to their legs, waiting to be transformed into tomorrow’s stories before a second life as fish supper wrappers.
The building is now a hotel which, with the majestic buildings across the road, form an impressive entrance to the old town.