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Friday, 30 January 2009

ANGUS HOTEL #2 - 1970'S

This photo of the Angus Hotel zone was taken in 1973.
The road layout reminds you it was in a perfect spot to catch travellers from all points on the compass.
There were a couple of small business premises to the left of the main entrance canopies. Grampian TV was next door. Next to them was a jewellers, office supplier and a car rental. Later, one of those premises was occupied by 2nd-hand record shop, Groucho's.
The 2 businesses across the road in the same Nethergate building next to the roundabout were, J.D Brown Photography Studio (the window with the net curtains) and next to it is the Bangladesh Restaurant, where David Bowie & Co once bought meals to bring back to the Angus Hotel after their gig in '73.

9 comments:

  1. Classic image. Cheers for this. Check the Roller outside the Angus!!!

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  2. Hi there....Grouchos was originally up the Perth Road just opposite what was the Universal Garden...It was definitely there until at least 1981, maybe later. It then moved to the end of the new Old Overgate into what used to be RS McColls, the move to under the Angus must have been mid eighties and the switch to the Nethergate followed in the late 80s or early 90s.

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  3. I agree with Bridie - I remember Grouchos being under the Angus (or "Angus Thistle" as I remember it!) for pretty much most of the 1990s. It was certainly there until after I graduated in 1998, and I remember it closing just before the old Overgate was demolished, so I guess it moved to its present location in 1999-2001. There was also a Prontaprint next door, and perhaps a Hertz car rental, but this is where my memories go a bit more hazy. The roundabout was a bit of a surprise though - my God, that must have got busy at 5:30pm!

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    1. The dates of the Nethergate move sound spot on to me. I moved to Dundee in Summer 1998 and Groucho's was still in the Overgate for about a year, and was one of the last outlets to close just before demolition. I remember being able to use what remained of the old Overgate around this time as a handy cut-through from Nethergate to North Lindsey Street - late 1999 I'm sure the cordens went up and the redevelopment started.

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  4. I'm sure Grouchos was under the Angus hotel before it moved to other end of Overgate, round about where the escalators are now. Grouchos under the Angus hotel never became Breeks, Breeks was up the flight of stairs near where What every woman Wants was.

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  5. Groucho's was on the left of the picture, and the couple are looking into what became its window. If you walked all the way to the left, past the hearing aid shop and up the stairs, you got to Breeks. Groucho's later moved along to the Reform Street end of the Overgate for a few years, next door to FastFrame (beside the ramp) and not far from the escalators, and moved out permanently once the redevelopment got underway.

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  6. The white portacabin in the 3 o'clock position was the Hertz car rental depot where I was based in 1973. I remember Liz the girl who ran it. I went on to run the depot at Glasgow airport. Best job I ever had.

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  7. Love it! Stayed there during December of 1974 and the summer of 1975. My father, John Berner, was a well log specialist for Conoco. He was working on an oil rig in the North Sea. The Angus Hotel was where he stayed when he wasn't on the rig. He was there for several years. We were living in Houston, Texas, USA, at the time.
    I have so many wonderful memories of our family's time there.

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  8. That roundabout still makes me shudder! I learned to drive on the left side of the road soon after we got there. OMG!

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