QUIET NEIGBOUR ON NOISY STREET

When was the last time you looked properly at this place – the long, rather leisurely York Buildings facing the Scottish National Portrait Gallery on Queen Street?

The frenetic, sandstone fiddliness of the Gallery opposite tends to absorb one's attention like a hyperactive grandmother with too many anecdotes, but we think its neighbour over the road has calm charms worth relishing. It now covers an older building of 1801 which fronted Dublin Street. This 1878 addition introduced an arcade of ground-floor shops, with offices above.

The client was the Victorian upholsterer John Boyd, and the architect was Robert Raeburn (1819–88) who for many years had his home and office at 4 Warriston Crescent. In 1880 he designed 9–11 Eyre Place, and, at some time before 1888, both the Canon Street corner and the 'deep and oppressive U' of Eyre Crescent.

That last quotation is from Gifford et al. (1984), who also don't particularly like The York Buildings. They describe them in general as a 'fussy confection' with a later (1919) 'fussy pedimented porch' added when the property was converted for government use. We disagree.

However, it is a shame that views of the building from the southeast are now obstructed with signage clutter at street level, and criss-crossing electric cables for the new trams higher up.

Nosey readers can take a virtual wander about inside the long leisurely named Blue Rainbow Aparthotel Edinburgh Royal Garden hotel here.

-------------------------------------

@theSpurtle Even more time to admire now, as the pedestrian lights there take an aeon to turn green. May bring deckchair & snacks next time.

@theSpurtle there were proposals floated to demolish that and build a SNGMA...