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Aberdeen Grammar School
407 Aberdeen Grammar School , 1861-3 architect James Matthews, sited on the edge of the Denburn, before the installation of its illuminating tower clock (popularly known at one time as "the Grammar moon"). In 1990, a distastrous fire gutted the building destroying the library. Famous pupils include Lord Byron. Future site of Central School (Aberdeen Academy)
697 The block of buildings in the centre of this photo are seen prior to their demolition about 1901. The site had been acquired by Aberdeen School Board for a new central higher grade school. It was to have a frontage along Schoolhill and Belmont Street of 145 feet. The Central School, renamed Aberdeen Academy, was closed in 1970, and has been converted into the Academy Shopping Centre (1999). The small building tucked in next to the tall gable end was not demolished. It was built in 1769 for James Dun, rector of Aberdeen Grammar School which was then situated opposite these buildings. The house was acquired by the School Board to house the caretaker and was later used as classrooms. In 1975, it was restored for use, initially as a children's museum and named James Dun's House. It was subsequently used as offices for Aberdeen City Council and later as a spa and shop. King Edward VII statue
1147 Installation of the statue of King Edward VII at the corner of Union Terrace and Union Street in 1914. The monument, in granite and bronze, is by Alfred Drury and was unveiled on 31st October 1914. The equipment required to lift the heavy granite blocks was less sophisticated than that used today. As can be seen, the mechanical crane and hoist, together with a large number of labourers, achieved the same objective. In the background can be seen the steeple of St. Nicholas Church and Belmont Street on the other side of the Denburn. Aberdeen Grammar School
1282 Aberdeen Grammar School, 1861-3 architect James Matthews, sited on the edge of the Denburn, before the installation of its illuminated tower clock (popularly known at one time as "the Grammar moon"). In 1990, a disastrous fire gutted the building destroying the library. Famous pupils include Lord Byron. Aberdeen Central Library, neon sign proposal
1412 This drawing shows proposals for an illuminated neon sign on the Central Library. The installation never went ahead (presumably as World War 2 intervened) but it certainly would have been visible for some distance. Aberdeen Central Library, Adult Lending Library 2012
1433 A view of the Adult Lending Library in 2012 showing the changes made to the main area following the removal of the main issue counter and the installation of self-issue terminals. Liddel Monument
1735 Liddel Monument (1637). Erected to the memory of Duncan Lidell (1561 - 1613), Rector of the Julian University in Rome and physician to the court of Brunswick. The Marquess of Huntly
1915 Charles Gordon, 11th Marquess of Huntly (5th March 1847 - 20th February 1937). Huntly was a Liberal politician and Lord Rector of the University of Aberdeen between 1890 and 1896. Inauguration Ceremony
2213 The inauguration ceremony, during the royal visit, 1906, to open the new extension of Marischal College. This Fred Hardie image shows the University's then Principal, Rev John Marshall Lang, reading the inaugural address.
The inauguration took place at 1pm in the Marischal College quadrangle and was attended by various dignitaries and a large crowd.
To the left of Lang, who is holding his address by the granite pillar, is Sir Frederick Treves, rector of the University, Donald Alexander Smith (Lord Strathcona), the University's chancellor, Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
See Record of the Celebration of the Quatercentenary of the University of Aberdeen, from 25th to 28th September, 1906 (1907) edited by P. J. Anderson, the University's librarian, for an account of the event and wider celebrations. Aberdeen Grammar School
2383 The Grammar School premises shown in this image were opened in 1863. After 1882 they were added to at various times.
The bronze statue of Byron that stands outside the school, and is visible in this photo, was by Pittendrigh Macgillivray and was unveiled in 1923. The rector at the time of this photo, Sir James J. Robertson, was then the only headmaster of a Scottish school to be knighted while still in office. He received the honour in July 1956.
This image comes from the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, George Stephen's, Christmas card of 1956. Statue of King Edward VII
2714 An Adelphi Real Photography Series postcard (no. 314) showing the statue of King Edward VII by Alfred Drury, presumably shortly before its installation at the corner of Union Terrace and Union Street in 1914. Dee Village Electricity Works
2883 A photograph showing the newly constructed interior of the Dee Village Electricity Works taken on 20th March 1901.
An electric conveyor belt with carts, and later a railway, brought vast quantities of cheap-quality coal from storage bunkers to heat the station's boilers. John S. Reid in Mechanical Aberdeen (1990) states that up to 20 tons of coal an hour was supplied to the furnaces.
Each boiler is marked "Aberdeen Electricity Works", is numbered, and has the date of installation - 1901. The figure to the left of the image looks like James Alexander Bell, the City Electrical Engineer.
This image is from an album of photographs held by Aberdeen City Libraries detailing the construction of the Dee Village Electricity Works. The Development of Marischal Square and Broad Street (23/08/2015-20/04/2018): 26
3076 Crates of fixtures and fittings wait in Broad Street for installation. Provost Skene's House behind. 25/03/2017. Aberdeen Cinemas: West End / Playhouse
3415 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Playhouse at 475 Union Street in January 1959. The venue originally opened on 12th November 1915 as a cinema called the West End. This was the first venture into full-time picture-hall proprietorship by James F. Donald, a key figure in the history of independent cinema exhibition in Aberdeen.
Donald was born in Newhills and came to Aberdeen for an apprenticeship with a coachbuilding firm. He had a varied career before coming to prominence as a highly successful dancing teacher. He was the leader of the Gondolier School of Dancing and Deportment.
He moved into the cinema business after acquiring the necessary projecting equipment and occupying a former billiard hall above the Aberdeen Dairy at 475 Union Street. Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) describes the cinema as a "strictly utilitarian affair", but a successful one at that. It was only heated by stoves, and coupled with being above a diary, it became known as "The Tuppenny Freezer".
Donald's lease on the cinema expired in September 1920 and he was immediately followed as proprietor by Bert Gate's Aberdeen Picture Palaces. It was a time of expansion for the incoming company. They had recently purchased The Picturedrome on Skene Terrace and shortly looked to transform the West End. The latter closed on 2nd April and reopened on 14th September 1921 as the 1,000-seater Picture Playhouse.
The opening ceremony was attended by Gates, the cinema's architects George Sutherland and Clement George, and various local VIPs. The opening films were A Yankee in the Court of King Arthur, a comedy called Jerry on the Spot, Pathé news, and another short. Thomson states that Aberdeen Picture Palaces were "now the proud possessor of a large, well-situated 'flagship' house, and Union Street now sported a fine up-to-date cinema."
The design of the Playhouse was "classical" and up-market, in accordance with its prominent west-end location. As seen here, the Union Street entrance was surrounded by white Sicilian marble facings on a black marble base. The paybox was oval in shape with one end in the vestibule and the other in the front foyer.
The main foyer was through the Union Street part of the building and up a 12-feet wide carpeted, marble stairway. This way was a tea room called the Ingleneuk, the manager's office, and the ornately decorated auditorium. The plush new cinema represented competition for the nearby Picture House.
Bert Gates, the manager of the Playhouse, was somewhat sceptical of the talkies but fully embraced the new development in February 1930 with the installation of a full Western Electric sound system.
The opening of Aberdeen Picture Palace's Capitol down the road in 1933 saw a reduction in ticket prices at the Playhouse. The two partner cinemas were advertised at the time as "Aberdeen's Premier Pair".
On 23 May 1941 it was announced that James F. Donald (Aberdeen Cinemas) Ltd. had bought a controlling interest in Aberdeen Picture Palaces. This meant that the Playhouse, along with the other APP venues, were now in the Donald circuit of cinemas.
This photograph dates from 1959 shortly before the cinema was relaunched as the Playhouse Continental, showing popular, often more risqué, films from Europe. This only lasted for a couple of years and the cinema reverted to being the Playhouse in 1961. This photograph shows the cinema advertising The Wind Cannot Read with Dirk Bogarde and All for Mary.
By 1973 the profitability of the Playhouse was eroded by spiralling costs. The owners of the building, builders James Scott & Son, had moved premises and were looking to dispose of the Union Street property. The cinema's lease was terminated at the end of 1973 and the cinema closed on 9th May 1974. Ownership of the block passed to Devanha Properties Ltd. and after lying empty for a few months the Playhouse was demolished to make way for a new block of shops and offices.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Point Law
3571 Facing north east, this high shot overlooks Point Law from the rooftops of Old Torry. The photograph may have been taken from the top of the more westerly of the two Leading Lighthouses.
The fish curing sheds and sailing fishing boats along Point Law are visible in the mid distance.
In the far line of sight lies Porca Quay and York Street. The chimneys of works to the rear of York Street let smoke into the foggy sky.
Two harbour paddle tugs can seen moored at Pocra Quay. Another is active in the tidal harbour.
An unusual bridge can be seen spanning the northern end of Pocra Quay. This was likely used by the cattle sheds located there in the early 20th century to move livestock between buildings while avoiding the road below.
Reference to the "cattle wharf" and abovementioned bridge can be found in an Aberdeen Journal article 'Improvements at Pocra Pier' from 3rd March 1892, page 4.
The cattle sheds directly on Pocra Jetty and the bridge have been removed by the time of the large scale Ordnance Survey map revised to 1923.
Pocra Jetty was the site of Pontoon Dock no. 3, installed in around 1911. This photograph pre-dates its installation, giving some indication of when it was taken.
The lack of human figures suggest a quiet day. This photograph may have been taken in the early morning. Treasure 43: Lending Department Catalogue (1886)
212 To commemorate Aberdeen's first free lending library opening 130 years ago this month we have selected a bound copy of the catalogue as one of our treasures. The hard back volume was presented to the library by the late Robert Anderson. An inscription tells us Anderson received the volume in 1917 from Catherine W Duncan after the death of her brother, James W Duncan, in whose library it had previously resided.
The catalogue was printed by the Aberdeen University Press and comprises of a single continuous alphabetically sequence including authors names, subjects of works and miscellaneous headings. Additionally, the catalogue includes the bye-laws of the Library, a preface, an "Explanations and Directions" section, a key to the indicator system and adverts for many Aberdeen businesses. In his preface, Robertson states "In the preparation of the following Catalogue, the chief aim has been to provide a compendious and easy guide to the contents of the Lending Department of the Library, which readers can take to their homes. No particular system has been rigidly followed, but recourse has been had to whatever device seemed calculated to promote the desired objects."
Baillie Walker and Dr Alexander Bain, Lord Rector of the University, also spoke at the opening of the Lending Department. Bain discussed the make-up of the book stock and the efforts undertaken to create this new development. He gave particular mention to the application of Library Committee member Duguid Milne. Baillie Walker stressed the preparatory work and said that Robertson, the Librarian, turned night into day in his efforts and that it was absolutely necessary that he takes a well-deserved holiday during the summer.
Even at the opening of the new Lending Department there was an awareness that the current building was inadequate. Efforts by the Library Committee to secure new premises had already been underway for some time. At the opening, A O Gill, Chairman of the Sub-Building Committee, stated that "they ought to have something better for the public than the present building, and he hoped that they would be able soon to provide a building suitable for the requirements of this large and populous city."
After much discussion of sites, gathering of funds, and construction work, the purpose built Aberdeen Central Library on the new Rosemount Viaduct was officially opened on 5th July 1892 and remains the home of Aberdeen's Public Libraries to this day. The old Mechanics' Institution has since primarily housed a mixture of hotels and pubs. A reminder of its brief time as Aberdeen's Public Library was found in 1950 when painters decorating the then Bon Accord Hotel uncovered a hidden sign showing the library's old opening times.
Treasure 47: Illuminated Central Library
218 To mark the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, we are unveiling one of our treasures which relate to the Central Library - a drawing from the Library archive showing what the Central Library might have looked like with an illuminated neon sign.
The drawing was produced by the General Electric Company Ltd and dated 14 March 1939. There is no reference in the Library Committee minutes to this proposal and the installation never went ahead, presumably as World War 2 intervened.
Had it been installed, however, it certainly would have been visible for some distance, glowing at the end of the Terrace! Treasure 114: Aberdeen Corporation Electricity Works
335 The construction of the Aberdeen Corporation Electricity Works at Dee Village and the associated cable subway was a major engineering feat for the city and constituted a significant step in its journey towards electrification.
The large scale generating station was first suggested in 1899 by Mr. James Alexander Bell, the Electrical Engineer for the city. This treasure from our collection is a photograph album that documents the construction of the site from the clearing of the land in 1901 to the operational station in early 1904. The full leather bound album contains approximately 78 photographs showing the clearance of the land, the construction of the building exteriors, interiors, erection of the chimney, laying of the cable subway and the installation of the then top of the line machinery. Images of the houses that occupied the land prior to the works are also included. The photographs themselves are beautiful 8 by 6 inch prints that show a great level of detail. Most of the images are labelled with the date they were taken, which eases following the complicated construction process. The photographs within our album constitute a unique record of an important piece of Aberdeen's civic and technological history.
Read about the full and fascinating history of this site and its development in the Treasures from our Collections interactive display. The Highland and Agricultural Society's Show
406 The back page of a 4-page Evening Gazette supplement about the large Highland and Agricultural Society Show that took place in Aberdeen on 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th July 1894.
It shows a proposed design for the new front of Marischal College on Broad Street and portraits of various related individuals:
Charles Gordon (11th Marquess of Huntly and Lord Rector of the University of Aberdeen between 1890 and 1896)
David Stewart (Lord Provost of Aberdeen from 1889 to 1894)
Charles Mitchell (Aberdeen born, Newcastle based Shipbuilder and philanthropist. He lived in Jesmond Towers in Newcastle)
Alexander Marshall Mackenzie (prominent Aberdeen architect who designed the shown proposal)
The eventual new front to Marischal College differed somewhat to that shown and was opened in 1906. The Suffragette
423 The Suffragette magazine was the organ of the Aberdeen University Woman Suffrage Association and this particular issue was from 28th October 1908. The front cover features an eye-catching design which is typical of the kind of symbolism used by suffragettes to promote their cause. It is difficult to say exactly what this design represents but it is reminiscent of a flower or rosette and the sun all of which were suffragette symbols.
The colours used are also significant. The colours we associate with the Woman's Social and Political Union, which was one of the major suffragette groups, are green, purple and white and they appeared on badges, jewellery and banners. Purple stood for freedom and dignity; green for hope and white for purity. The colours in this design vary slightly from this but are also likely to be meaningful.
The content of the newsletter is also interesting. It is dominated by the possibility of Henry Herbert Asquith, the Prime Minister at the time, becoming the Aberdeen University rector. Satirical articles and poems mock Asquith and the Liberal Party. As far as the suffragettes were concerned he was an unpopular candidate due to his opposition to women gaining the vote.
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