A photograph by Roddy Millar, taken 24/07/2024, from a series surveying the architecture of the north side of Union Street.

The building shown here is 480-484 Union Street. It was originally built as the cistern for Aberdeen by architect John Smith (1781-1852). It was essentially a giant water tank designed to look like a tenement.

Diane Morgan in The Granite Mile (2008), p. 178, explains that Parliament had permitted water to be extracted from the River Dee for the expanding city in 1829. This resulted in Smith being instructed to build the Waterhouse, as the cistern was known, to enable its storage and distribution.

The opening of waterworks at Invercanny in 1866 rendered the cistern redundant. It subsequently served as a fire station and later as carriage and horse hiring premises for William Bain (1838-1901), post horsemaster. An obituary for Bain can be found in the Aberdeen Journal, 01/07/1901, p. 5.

Circa 1900 the building was reconstructed into a functioning tenement. The upper floors were occupied by flats and offices. No. 484 at ground floor, became the West End Branch of the British Linen Bank. In 1937, the shopfront was remodelled by Dick Peddie, Todd and Jamieson.

The ground floor was occupied by a succession of bank branches during the 20th century. Since around 2011, 484 has been a health and disability assessment centre associated with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Historic Environment Scotland describe 480-484 Union Street as a 4-storey, 3-bay coursed granite ashlar building with channelled rustication to the ground floor. Bipartite windows feature on the first, second and third floors. The 3rd floor has a band course, projecting cornice above its cill level, eaves cornice and a blocking course above.

Location

Union Street

Keyword

Architecture

Photographer

Roddy Millar