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A photograph of the demolition of the largest of the chimney stalks at the Torry brick and tile works that took place on Saturday 12th September 1903. The photograph illustrates the method employed to fall the 175 foot structure, by the overseer Peter Tawse, as described in the Press & Journal: "The preliminary work of cutting a gap in the chimney near the base was early accomplished by three of the skilled tunnellers employed by Mr Tawse at the Girdleness outfall sewer. As the gap widened, stout wooden props were put in to support the structure. The gap was carried to more than half the circumference of the chimney, and the sight of the weighty pile supported on one side by only a half-dozen wooden props was certainty sufficient to make one nervous. The gang was under the charge of a Lancashire foreman, and they worked away, pipe in mouth, quite unconcernedly. "The gap having been completed, a charge of dynamite was inserted at the bottom of the props, and a time fuse attached to each. "Excitement reached a high pitch among the spectators when the signal was given to fire the fuses, and the crowd began to edge further away when the smoke was seen curling round the props, and as the workmen bolted to get beyond the danger zone. First one charge and then the other exploded with a sharp report, but it was not until the props at the extreme ends of the half circles were blown to splinters, that the chimney showed any sign of moving. It then came down, as a spectator remarked, - 'Jist like a rum'le o' bricks.' It slid rather than fell straight down at first, but the top portion toppled over in a south-easternly direction, exactly on the line expected by the contractor. It was all over in a couple of seconds, and certainly it was a sensational sight - so quick, so clear, so safe." P&J, 14/09/1903, page 6.

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This image was taken around 1909 from a hill at the west end of Culter - 7 miles west from Aberdeen looking down on the North Deeside Road towards Banchory. The image shows the cottages known as Clayhills with the houses of Malcolm Road beyond. Hidden in the trees at the right hand side is the statue of Rob Roy overlooking the Leuchar Burn which runs through the wooded valley.

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The dinner hour, workers crossing the bridge over the River Don. The history of the mills in Woodside has gone through prosperous and bad times with several being closed in the mid-1800s and subsequently reopened towards the end of the century. The success especially of the paper and cloth mills of the area has provided work for many generations of Woodsiders. A linen and cloth factory moved to the Grandholme mills site in mid-18th century from Gordon Mills and was taken over by James and John Crombie in 1859. J&J Crombie went on to produce the famous worldwide Crombie cloth at the Grandholme Mill, leading to the long association between Woodside and the fabric. The mill at one point employed up to 3000 people. J&J Crombie were included on a list of government suppliers and one tenth of all coats worn by British officers of the First World War were made with the Crombie cloth. By World War II 467 miles of the cloth was being produced at the Grandholme mill per year. By 1960 Grandholm was the largest supplier of tweed in the UK and also produced silk, wool, cashmere and yarns. Sadly the business has now been moved away from the Woodside area to the Borders. The bridge shown in this photograph is the old wooden bridge that was known locally as the "White Bridge". It was built by the firm of Leys, Masson and Company in 1810 to improve access to its Granholm Works. It was replaced in 1922 by the present steel structure, built by the Motherwell Bridge Company.

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The Regent was opened as the second, companion cinema of Jack Poole, after his transformation of the Palace on Bridge Place that had opened in 1931. The Justice Mills location was selected and the cinema was constructed on the eastern end of the historic Upper Mill. A cinema was able to utilise the sloping nature of the site in the way few other projects could. Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) states that work progressed on the new cinema at an excellent rate with virtually all material and labour coming from local sources. The sparkling Rubislaw granite frontage was the work of masons Edgar Gauld of Gilcomston Terrace. Wood for the joinery work came from Sweden and Finland. The Regent was Aberdeen's first all-new cinema since the Torry Picture House a decade before. It was also the first cinema designed by Thomas Scott Sutherland, who had previously been a designer of, and dealer in, houses, notably the granite bungalows of the Broomhill estate. The impressive new cinema opened on Saturday 27th February 1932, to an audience mostly of guests, with the main feature being a melodrama called Over the Hill. Reporting on the opening, the Evening Express wrote the following: "Even though Aberdeen has many magnificent edifices, there is nothing quite so distinctive as the modern design of the front of the new Regent. Fine use has been made of straight lines and curves placed in sharp contrast, and the face that looks through the entrance to Justice Mill Lane on Holburn Street has an imposing dignity about it and yet an elusive gaiety in its composition. It is built of grey granite decorated with bands of red terracotta, and a polished black granite base." The frontage was floodlit by night and outlined by Aberdeen's neon display. Above the gantry was the large, neon "Regent" sign which made the cinema a beacon at night. The Regent and the Palace were then advertised as "Aberdeen's Super Two". The Regent's manager John K. Stafford Poole, son of Jack Poole, was aged only 21 when the Regent opened and his innovative promotion and displays became a signature of the cinema. The younger Poole regularly invited the Gordon Highlanders to screenings and in return they would afterwards march, pipes a-skirl, through the cinema and along Union Street back to their barracks. The Regent proved hugely popular and was soon out-performing the Palace. The success of Poole's Regent prompted Aberdeen Picture Palaces to undertake the creation of their own super-cinema, the Capitol, which would open in 1933. The same year also saw the release of King Kong and the publicity stunt of a human dressed as an ape rampaging on the frontage of the Regent. On 16th July 1936 it was announced that another southern company called County Cinemas had acquired all the Poole picture houses, those in Devonport, Derby and Plymouth, as well as the Palace and Regent in Aberdeen. In 1939 County Cinemas merged with the larger Odeon chain. In July 1940 the "Regent" sign came down to be replaced with one that read "Odeon". As part of this powerful national circuit, the cinema could rival any in Aberdeen for showing major features. [Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]