THE DISAPPEARING CORNER - 1980'S

These images were all taken around the corner wedge area where City Road meets Milnbank Road.

Most of the main buildings you can see in the photos have vanished, replaced now with landscaping.

If you want to do a Google Street View comparison, here are their locations.

Top pic - Baxter Street shot from City Road in April 1986.

2nd pic - Baxter Street looking back down towards City Road in March 1984.

3rd pic - Blyth Street on a rainy day in November 1984.

last pic - The back of Blyth Street and Fleuchar Street in February 1985.

Photos by Neale Elder.

LOCHEE HIGH STREET - 1987

Traipsing further up along Lochee Road to the High Street, here's a reminder of how the scene looked on 6th July 1987.

Apart from the church, most of the buildings are still around today, although not necessarily as the same businesses that are in shot. For example the amusements have gone, the bank on the corner has changed and I'm sure there will be one or two others.

To zoom in and have a closer look, just click the pic.

Photo by Neale Elder.

NHS MARCH - PART 2 - MID 80'S

Stretching the full length of Lochee Road, the protesters march past Peter Flynn's fence down to the Marketgait and eventually arrive in the city square.

It was the Thatcher government who was in power at the time so needless to say they were the ones who brought upon the privatisation of the NHS, kick-starting these rallies in the first place - and still the battle rages today.

They'll be putting parking meters in ambulance depots next!

Photos by The Bear.

NHS MARCH - PART 1 - MID 80'S

Yes I know, there are a lot of photos to scroll through and I could have just plucked out a selected few to display instead, but I decided to post the whole caboodle because I reckon the people who crop up in them will not have seen them before, so thought I'd use this opportunity to include all the images I have for the participants and their families to see.

This NHS march was an "anti privatisation" protest that took place around 1986ish.

It starts off with the great gathering up at Dudhope Park (the DRI was still on the go back then) then from the Pleasance Bar on the corner of Gardeners Lane it snakes its way down Lochee Road heading for the city centre.

It was a good natured march with nurses leading the way, followed by fellow workers, unionists and family members. Even the police are smiling!

Some of the placards and banners are from the like of COHSE - NALGO - NUPE - TGWU etc...with a few home-maders too.

I will be putting a similar quantity up again tomorrow, so if you don't spot anyone you know in this bundle, perhaps you may have better luck with the second set.

To view the large versions, just give the pictures a click.

Photos by The Bear.

VIEW DOWN LOGIE STREET

I don't have the exact year this scene was captured but this is what the view down Logie Street was like around the late 60s-early 70s, a lot of which has since disappeared.

The car in shot is a Ford Escort which were introduced in 1968 so the picture wouldn't be any earlier than that.

The Astoria Theatre can be seen in the middle of the photo but it's difficult to make out if it is still open for business or closed down. According to the Tele supplement I posted up 2 days ago, the Astoria shut its doors in 1971.

Ach well, at least the Logie Bar is still in the same spot today, so that's something that hasn't changed!

Photo from Gordon C.

LOCHEE WEST STATION IN COLOUR

Got a rare, recently discovered colour photo from the 1960's of Lochee West Station at the junction of Elmwood Road and South Road.
Still lots of open land around the area back then, and even some quaint farm cottages across the road. In fact, you wouldn't think there would be much call for a rail stop at this point. Quite a change from how it is nowadays.
A reminder that there are a couple of other items on Lochee West Station in the March 2011 Retro Archives, including map and film footage.
Thanks to Gordon C.

POLEPARK'S OLD TRAM SHELTER

I remember this old shelter from my schoolboy days in the 60s & 70s because my aunt and uncle lived just down the road from it. However, I can't recall now if it was sitting empty back then or if there was a newspaper seller using it. All I do know is that it definitely wasn't being used for what it was designed for - a tram waiting room.
It was on the Lochee Road across from Polepark Road near St Mary Place.
This picture of it was taken in June 1989, nearing the end of it's life.
It has since been removed and replaced with a bit of landscaping, but whether it ended up as scrap, or put into into a transport museum, I've no idea!
Photo by Neale Elder.

DUNDEE PASTEURISED MILK CO

Dundee Pasteurised Milk Co, or as it was more commonly known - the DPM - had premises all over town in the 60's and early 70's. I remember we used to go to their Dairy corner shop at the Craigiebank shops quite regularly back then. In fact, it was very similar to the one in the above photo which was located on the corner of Lochee High St & Bank St.

The picture was taken around 1970ish when DPM had their HQ in Mains Road.

They also had a garage in Strathmartine Road and shops in Reform St, Dura St, 2 in Perth Road, Dundonald St, Princes St, Fintry Road, Union St, Blackness Road, Arbroath Rd & Lochee High St - with the one in Reform St being a cafe.

By 1974, the DPM had completely disappeared off the map!

The advert with the crappy drawing is dated 1968.

END OF THE LINE

As I bring the recent railway theme to a halt, I'm going to end it with the same topic I started it off with - the Lochee line.

The map section I scanned in shows Lochee West Station & Lochee Station, with the line then continuing up towards Downfield.

Before it reaches the Kingsway, another line branches off East to Fair Muir and Maryfield goods stations.

The aerial photo is from around the mid 60's and it too has the Lochee line visible on it.

The easiest way to spot it is - you see that small dark square clump of trees near the bottom right of the picture, well the thin grey track brushing passed it is the Lochee line, and in fact that is where Lochee West Station was located.

You can follow the line on the photo all the way along it's swooping curve through Lochee and up beside the Kingsway Ice Rink.

You'd probably be best to save the large versions onto your own computer and go back & forward between the 2 to match them up.

And just in case the obvious escapes you - the left side of the map corresponds to the bottom of the photo, so you'll need to twist the images around in your mind!

2 OLD LOCHEE RAIL STATIONS

Lochee by rail? Well you could once upon a time.

The top picture is Lochee Station, taken around 1970-ish.

It had been closed down for quite a while by then, but the station itself was saved and converted in 1972 into the Lochee Burns Club.

I really like the patchwork quilt stonework. You'd think Gaudi had paid a visit.

The other one, a bit further along the line, is Lochee West Station.

This outpost was flattened rather than rescued, but just before it disappeared it was filmed for posterity in the late 60's.

The footage below doesn't last long, but it lingers long enough to notice that it had separate waiting rooms for the Gentlemen and the Ladies!

LOCHEE HIGH STREET TRAFFIC - EARLY 70'S

Another line of period cars, this time along a segment of Lochee High Street in the early 70's.
My attempt to name some may not all be 100% accurate so feel free to correct me (without swearing!)...here goes...Morris 1100, Humber Sceptre, Austin Maxi, Morris Traveller, 3 Mini's and 2 Vauxhall Viva's..not too sure of the remainder but it's a typical everyday display from this time zone.
I can name the shops though because I have an early 70's directory by my side.
Left to right - Kosto (newsagent) complete with Pola Cola sign above the door - Gall & Co (drapers) - Miss D. Fenton (fish merchant) - D. Webster & Co (butcher) - J. Milne (confectioner) - W. Low (supermarket) - Idea For Living (household accessories) - C. W. Carr (shoe retailer) - Forbes Johnston (chemist) and Alex Munro (butcher) with the canopy.

DRYBURGH PLAYGROUND - 1972

Dryburgh Primary School in Lochee, was visited by local journalist David Phillips in 1972.
He was informing the youngsters what kids from his childhood got up to for fun, including demonstrating the Gird & Cleek, a metal hoop toy that never made a comeback with later generations!
The school headmaster at the time would either be Mr Soutar or Mr Harvey, not sure of the exact year in the early 70's the change took place.
Same goes for the jannie, so it would either be Mr Kidd or Mr Simpson.
I have no names for the pupils, but I'm sure someone out there will recognise one or two!

PETER FLYNN'S LOCHEE ROAD FENCE

Many artists were involved in revitalising certain spots around Dundee in the 80's when the Public Art Projects were on the go. I've already posted a few examples up on Retro over the past couple of years, you may recall.

Well here's another one for the collection.

Lots of you will be familiar with the Lochee Road fence, but you may not be quite so familiar with who did it. Well the chap who painted all that snazzy artwork was Peter Flynn.

The top image is Peter in full flow!

The picture underneath it is a section showing the finished design.

The last I heard, he was, and maybe still is, an art teacher at St Johns.  

LOCHEE ROAD IN THE 60'S

This curvy section of Lochee Road has the Logie Burying Ground on the corner, and on the other side of the street there are the shops and business premises.
If you go onto Google Street View you'll find that all the shops and businesses have been replaced with modern housing.
The footage below also features some young lads messing about. Possibly budding Lochee Fleet members..?!!

BLACK STREET PLAY PARK - 1980'S

Looking like a NASA site rather than a Dundee Council area, this play park featuring a Space Shuttle chute & climbing frame was located in Black Street, just off Lochee Road. Also in the shot, taken in the early 80's, are swings and sandpit with digger.
Again, like the Craigie one, it is a thing of the past. I had a look on Google Earth for it but the whole area is now sitting empty.
Unless it IS a secret NASA site and has been airbrushed out..!!

LOCHEE BATHS - ST. MARYS LANE

Lochee Baths is where I learned to swim. This was back in the late 60's when my primary class used to visit there once a week for lessons.
The entrance was up a wee side street called St Marys Lane, just off Lochee High Street.
The interior layout was very compact, in fact there was actually hardly any room to move around the edge of the pool.
When we went there it was only the girls who got to use the perimeter cubicles, us boys got chucked in the communal changing room around the back.
I remember we all started off using arch shaped polystyrene floats before any attempts at proper swimming commenced, but it didn't take long before the whole class could swim.
The upside to the trip was, because we attended Balerno school in Douglas, it meant a lengthy bus journey, so we kind of viewed the 3 hour day out as a bit of a skive from class, what with the all-round excursion using up a full morning.
The downside to it was, our class was booked during the winter months so I can also recall the miserable return journey when we were all damp haired, freezing and shivering waiting on the bus back.
Still to this day, anytime I happen to catch a whiff of bleach, I always get a flashback to the Lochee Baths!
Photo by DC Thomson.Tints by GG.

THE REP THEATRE - LOCHEE ROAD

When the old original Rep Theatre in Nicoll Street burnt down in the early 60's, this church in Lochee Road became the Rep's 2nd home. It was only supposed to be a temporary base, but it remained in use right up until the opening of their present theatre in Tay Square in 1982.

Under the photos are some items pertaining to Lochee Rep, the advert being 2 plays performed in 1966.

I can remember visiting the Lochee Road Rep in the late 60's as a special school treat when my class went to see a "marionette show".

Being primary school age, we were used to string puppets on TV with shows such as Thunderbirds, Stingray, Joe 90 and them all, so needless to say the show was a big hit with the kids.

They had to construct a small puppet stage onto the main stage for them to perform. All the drapery & cloth surrounding it was black, as was the puppeteer's clothing. This was to keep the puppeteers hidden during the performance of course, which meant we could concentrate on the puppet action better!

Read the 1968 article above for more details.

I also recall my parents going to see John Cairney do his show at Lochee Rep, a play about Robert Burns which was also very popular at the time.

On the final night of the performance, however, he created a little confrontation afterwards, which you can read in the above clipping dated 1967.