MOOVING ON DOWN TO THE COWGATE

If you backtrack to 24th October 2011 when I posted 3 pictures from around the Cowgate, you'll be able to see many of the buildings that were in these settings in 1970, just before demolition commenced.

The top photo here, taken in the early/mid 70's after demolition, has the area around King Street visible and as you can see, it was turned into a temporary car park before the new construction started.

The picture taken in the Cowgate, if you compare to the October set, you will notice that a huge chunk of the original buildings have disappeared from this location too, and again, a part of it turned into a makeshift car park - you can just make out Wishart Arch poking through in the distance. This image above was captured in September 1984.

Top photo from Gordon C.

Bottom photo by Neale Elder.

VANISHING VICKY - EARLY 70'S

Another group of photos from the early 70's showing the demolition around Victoria Road.

Top picture is of the upper area of the Vicky.

2nd image, from the edge of the crater, was taken in Charles Street off the Wellgate. The derelict building at the opposite end, was the Kings Road location.

The 3rd view is where the buildings I displayed on yesterdays post would have been positioned.

Lastly, a look back over from the other side - the photographer was standing in Kings Road at the time.

Photos from Gordon C.

VICTORIA ROAD BACKIES - 1970

A couple of interesting photos showing the back of the buildings along Victoria Road.

You may recall a similar view of this section of the Vicky I posted back in November 2010, but the difference is, on last years, the buildings were all empty - on these 2 photos here however, there is evidence that they are still being lived in.

The pictures were probably taken around 1970ish, so they didn't have that much longer to go before the arrival of the bulldozers.

The top photo shows the segment where it joins onto Idvies Street.

The image below it is further down a wee bit going towards Wellgate, with the tell tale sign of life - the washin' hingin' oot!

Not quite sure what the small building in the foreground beside the lampie is mind you, because I don't know what address it would come under. If it's in Charles Street then the only place that crops up in my 1970 directory on that side of the street is D. Todd, a coal dealer. Could be - could no be - hopefully maybe one of you will be able to nail that one.

Photos from Gordon C.

ACTING TROUPE IN HILLTOWN - 80'S

This is an acting troupe posing near the demolition site of the Tap O' The Steps pub on the corner of Hilltown/Victoria Road, sometime around the mid/late 80's.
That's Alison Burns far right, and possibly Derek Thomson far left but not too sure who the others in her company are.
Just wondering if this might be the group of actors who performed up at the DRCU in the Hilltown before Alison joined the more well known Wildcat cast.
All a bit hazy, but if you think you can supply further details, feel free to drop them into the comments.
Photo by The Bear.

DISMANTLING VICTORIA ROAD - 1988

They seemed to be going a bit canny with the demolition work at Victoria Road when this photo was taken on 19 Feb 1988. Perhaps this was the "snaffling the lead tiles off the roof" phase or something!
Anyway, the area in shot stretches from the Butcher on the left (#24) to the Knitting Centre on the right (#38).
I can't make out all the shops but the Central Cafe is there, also Chima, who sold saris and suchlike.
I remember in the mid 60's the 2 Chima daughters were the first Asians to enrol at Balerno Primary School, with Ravi Chima coming into my class.
The other feature in the picture is the lamppost at the top of Wellgate steps, referred to as the Bobbys Helmet.
And if you are in a particularly silly mood, you could do a double take and view the photo through surreal eyes where you might be able to see a wee gnome repairing the inside of the light!
Photo by Neale Elder.

DISCOVERY'S TEMPORARY HOME - 1986

This shot was taken on the 4th April 1986, the day after the Discovery had arrived back to Tayside and still wearing it's "Home to Dundee" banner.

The Victoria Dock here became it's temporary home until it was moved into it's now more familiar position on the waterfront.

You won't need me to remind you the name of the other ship in the foreground!

Photo by Neale Elder.

DOWN WILLIAM LANE - EARLY 70'S

Last year I posted an image of William Lane looking up the steps to Victoria Road.
Well here's the opposite view, this time from the steps looking down towards King Street.
Everything in the picture has disappeared, with the exception of the building with the roof ladder across the other side of King Street.
The photo was taken by my brother around 1973ish.
The previous item on William Lane is in the November 2010 archive, if you want to have a dip and compare scenes.

WILLIAM LANE STEPS - EARLY 70'S

William Lane ran from Victoria Road down to King Street.

It consisted mainly of the steps in the photo, although there was a wee bit of road at the bottom of the lane before reaching King Street.

The building on the left of the steps photo (or to the right of the billboards on the top photo) was a stone engravers called Carnegie & Son. It's a place I remember passing on the bus regularly as a youngster because it's window display was made up of gravestones. No need to stop off there with your pocket money!

You can consult yesterdays map to find the location of William Lane. It was to the left of Dens brae, opposite Wellington Street.

I checked Google's satellite map, and if you zoom into the area you can still see the ghost of the steps showing through from the undergrowth.

VICTORIA ROAD - FRONT & BACK - EARLY 70'S

This stretch of property was on Victoria Road between the Wellgate and Idvies Street (now Ladywell Ave).

The rear of the buildings would normally be hidden away from view because they were surrounded by tenements on all sides, so the shot of the backies is quite a rare sight.

To help you with your bearings, the building to the right with the large extensions on the back, is Forbes.

Also in the backies image is the church on the far right which was across the street at Eadies Road, and is now where a block of flats is.

The picture of the back of the tenements is a great one to zoom into on the large version. Lots of ancient nooks & crannies connecting the jumble of buildings to nose around. Not too sure what's what mind you - outside toilets, sheds, dovecotes, stock rooms, who knows, probably a mix of all of these. Just looks like a huge inviting adventure playground for a 7 year old kid!

By the mid 70's it was all gone and has since been replaced by free lodgings for birds - trees!

I've included a map of the area to give you a reminder of the layout back then.

If you'd like to recall what this same stretch of road was like when it was bustling with business, there's a good photo from the 60's in the Retro Archives - 7th November 2008.

Click onto the images to view or download the large versions. 

EARLY 70'S DEMOLITION

I still have a small batch of photos remaining that my brother took in the early 70's around the city centre area, so thought I'd drop them in over the next few days.
Starting with this one here of 2 Trojan bulldozers shifting the rubble in Victoria Road.
No safety gear in these days, with the guy nearest wearing only a floppy hat! No dust masks either, so unless they had their hankies tied around their faces like we did as kids playing cowboys, then the 2 drivers would probably have pretty dusty lungs at the end of their shift!
There are quite a few photos from this period scattered around Retro, so if you want a wee reminder of how Victoria Road looked before/during & after demolition, there are a chunk of images to be found in the Retro June 2009 Archives.

McGILL'S FURNITURE DEPT - 1976

I was in McGill Brothers fashion and sports departments often enough in the 70's, but I never set foot in their furniture dept, so this interior image is the first time I have seen it!
Their furniture dept was located at the Hilltown corner store in Victoria Road, along with the sports dept.
This DC Thomson photo was taken in January 1976.

THE CLAIROL 1200 - 1980's

See this hairdryer of mine, the Clairol 1200, it just conked out on me about 3 years ago. I'd been using this one since around 1980, so nearly 3 decades it lasted.

If memory serves me correctly, I got it from Argos, which was located around the Quality Inn area in the Overgate at the time. A good wee purchase it turned out to be too.

I still have the same thick full head of hair I had back then, no sign of it receding or thinning on top yet! However, some of you may not know that for those less fortunate, in the 70's there used to be a place in Victoria Road who provided a "hair implant" service.

It went under the name - Top Secret - which I can't help find funny.

Vanity and discretion rolled into one!

JEANNE'S HAIDRESSER - VICTORIA ROAD

On the opposite end of the Wellgate area to where Paynes was, was another hairdresser called Jeanne. It opened up on Victoria Road in the mid 70's, with this picture of the premises taken in November 1976.
Again, it wasn't a place I was in as I'm guessing it was for ladies only.
Photo by DC Thomson.

FILMS ON SCREEN - OCTOBER 1988

Not so many cinemas in town by the time we reach the late 80's, but here's what films were on offer in October 1988, published in Dundee's what's on guide, Street Life.
If I only had to pick one movie, I think I'd opt for "A Fish Called Wanda".
Picture houses mentioned are - STEPS - CANNON 1 & 2 - VICTORIA.
Click image to read large version.

THE VIC - VICTORIA ROAD

Call it the Victoria, Vicky, Vic or flea-pit, but as picture house's go, it was quite low down in the pecking order of cinema's to visit.

It couldn't really compete with the blockbusters the ABC and Odeon screened regularly and so would often show movies that were on their 2nd or 3rd outing. Having said that, I did go there quite a lot in the 60's & 70's.

I have 2 not so good memories of the Vic...

Once, on a visit as a schoolkid in the 60's, me & my wee brother came back from a show with our heads covered in lice! Yep, the flea-pit tag struck with a vengeance that day. We had to use "special shampoo" and a nit comb for a few days afterwards!!

The other Vic nightmare was in the early 80's, when during a film, a huge chunk of plaster came crashing down off the ceiling. Luckily it landed around an empty area of seats beside the aisle rather than on someones noggin, but I clearly remember saying after the show - "That's the last time I'll be in this place" - and indeed it was.

Amazingly though, the Vic was the 2nd longest running cinema in Scotland, so I can only assume it's heyday was pre 60's.

The place was closed/condemned at the end of the 80's.

MID 70'S AIR SHOT - HILLTOWN TO BLACKSCROFT

This view takes in an area of the Hilltown, and goes down to as far as Blackscroft.
Some of the main streets to be seen are - Alexander St (with Jamaica Towers & Wellington Towers) - Ann St (with primary school?) - Wellington St - William St - Dens Rd - Lyon St - Victoria St - Victoria Rd - Princes St - Constable St - Blackscroft, plus a few others in between.
The photo shows the demolition clearance that was taking place at the time, and although many (probably most) of the buildings have since disappeared, one or two of the old buildings did survive, for example the jute mill building down Princes Street was converted into flats in the 80's.
To have a look around the area, click onto the image to enlarge.

McGILL'S SHOP INTERIOR - 1975

"Just looking..!!"

A little glimpse into McGill Brothers on Victoria Road in May 1975.

Some of the goods on offer are - boxes of braces, pre-packed denim shirts, checked shirts, casual tops, colognes, sunglasses and a few other knick knacks.

This is the part of the shop that greeted you when you went through the main doors on Victoria Road.

They had more substantial clothing upstairs like, suits, coats and so on for your average Joe.

For the young trendy teenager they stocked, Levi Sta-Prest, Ben Sherman shirts, Fred Perry's, Crombie's, etc.

They had school uniforms too for the more sensible type!

In the picture, you can see an interior doorway area (beside the fire extinguisher) that lead downstairs to the shoe dept. One of the more memorable pairs of shoes I bought from there was in 1973 - black & white brogues (spats) with thick Doc Marten soles. Wow!! They were about the dearest shoes in the shop..!!

I noticed that the guy right on the edge of the picture is wearing what was called a "Swallow raincoat", Swallow being the brand name, and these were a bit of a minor fad in the mid 70's as a kind of follow on from crombies.

Photo by DC Thomson.Tints by GG

...GONE!

Now completely cleared and ready to start all over again.
By the way, that grey shop on the corner (mid right) is Premier Studio Photographers.

...GOING...

Nothing but rubble remains.

GOING...

Tearing down the buildings in the Victoria Road area has started.