Situated to the north of
Princes StreetPrinces Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private...
,
George Street is a major street in the centre of
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
, the capital of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Laid out from 1767 as part of
James CraigJames Craig was a Scottish architect. His brief career was concentrated almost entirely in Edinburgh, and he is remembered primarily for his layout of the first Edinburgh New Town.-Date of birth:...
's plan for the
New TownThe New Town, a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
, George Street was named in honour of
King George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
.
George Street lies to the north of central Edinburgh's main thoroughfare
Princes StreetPrinces Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private...
, and is one of the principal routes through the heart of the city, connecting
Charlotte SquareCharlotte Square is a city square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Charlotte Square was the last part of the initial phase of the New Town to be completed in 1820. Much of it was the design of Robert Adam, who died in 1792 just as building...
at its west end and St Andrew Square to the east.
Situated to the north of
Princes StreetPrinces Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private...
,
George Street is a major street in the centre of
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
, the capital of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Laid out from 1767 as part of
James CraigJames Craig was a Scottish architect. His brief career was concentrated almost entirely in Edinburgh, and he is remembered primarily for his layout of the first Edinburgh New Town.-Date of birth:...
's plan for the
New TownThe New Town, a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
, George Street was named in honour of
King George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
.
Geography
George Street lies to the north of central Edinburgh's main thoroughfare
Princes StreetPrinces Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private...
, and is one of the principal routes through the heart of the city, connecting
Charlotte SquareCharlotte Square is a city square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Charlotte Square was the last part of the initial phase of the New Town to be completed in 1820. Much of it was the design of Robert Adam, who died in 1792 just as building...
at its west end and St Andrew Square to the east. It is bisected by many important thoroughfares, such as Frederick Street, Hanover Street and
Castle StreetCastle Street may be:* Castle Street, Bridgwater, England* Castle Street, Cambridge, England* Castle Street, Canterbury, England* Castle Street, Liverpool, England* Castle Street, Reading, England* Castle Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...
, that run in a north-south orientation between Princes Street to the south and Queen Street at the north of the heart of
James CraigJames Craig was a Scottish architect. His brief career was concentrated almost entirely in Edinburgh, and he is remembered primarily for his layout of the first Edinburgh New Town.-Date of birth:...
's
New TownThe New Town, a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
. George Street lies at a slightly higher elevation than Princes Street and Queen Street, to both of which it runs parallel. This is because much of the New Town is underlain by uneven glacial deposition.
Functions
In recent years, George Street has seen a major transformation in its functions. The street functioned as the centre of Edinburgh's
financial districtEdinburgh, as the capital of Scotland, is usually regarded as one of the twin engines of the Scottish Economy alongside Glasgow. Edinburgh has been consistently one of the most prosperous parts of the country and has the strongest economy of any city in the UK outside London...
housing the premises of banks, insurance brokers and
investmentInvestment or investing is a term with several closely-related meanings in business management, finance and economics, related to saving or deferring consumption. Investing is the active redirection of resources: from being consumed today, to creating benefits in the future; the use of assets to...
companies. However increasing rents and the
agglomerationIn the study of human settlements, an agglomeration is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up area of a central place and any suburbs linked by continuous urban area. In France, INSEE the French Statistical Institute, translate it as "Unité urbaine" which means continuous urbanized...
of financial services at places like the large office development at
Edinburgh ParkEdinburgh Park is a business park located in South Gyle, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located to the west of the city, near Edinburgh Airport and the Edinburgh City Bypass. The layout of the park was masterplanned by American architect Richard Meier, and it opened in 1995...
on the western periphery of the city and the Exchange District on brownfield land immediately adjacent to the western edge of the city centre, have seen its role as Edinburgh's main financial district much diminished. However,
Standard LifeStandard Life plc is a financial services institution based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Formerly a mutual society, since 10 July 2006, the company has been listed on the London Stock Exchange...
Investments retain office premises on the street, at its junction with St Andrew Square. Nowadays George Street is primarily a commercial zone, with buildings housing many shops, boutiques, cafes and bars along its length at street level. Offices still occupy many of the upper parts of the buildings that line the street.
Notable Buildings
The street is the site of several notable buildings including the
Assembly RoomsThe Assembly Rooms is located in the heart of Edinburgh New Town, the rooms now host a number of events including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Hogmanay celebrations. There are four rooms that are used year-round and are available for public & private functions: Music Hall, Ballroom, Supper...
(1787),
St Andrew's and St George's ChurchSt Andrew's and St George's Church serves Edinburgh's New Town, in Scotland. It is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The parish today constitutes the whole of the First New Town of Edinburgh and a small part of the early 19th century Second New Town of Edinburgh.-Building:Two churches, St...
(1784) and others by David Rhind (1808–83) and
David BryceDavid Bryce was a Scottish architect. Born in Edinburgh, he was educated at the Royal High School and joined the office of architect William Burn in 1825, aged 22. By 1841, Bryce had risen to be Burn's partner...
(1803–76) which were previously the headquarters of banks, such as the grand melange of
GreekArchitecture was extinct in Greece from the end of the Mycenaean period to the 7th century BC, when plebian life and prosperity recovered to a point where public building could be undertaken...
and
RomanThe architecture of Ancient Rome at first adopted the external Greek architecture for their own purposes, which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered one body of classical architecture...
styles which now houses the Dome bar and night-club (1847). The
Church of Scotland OfficesThe Church of Scotland offices are located in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, at 121 George Street. These imposing buildings are popularly known in Church circles as "one-two-one". They were designed in a Scandinavian-influenced style by the architect Sydney Mitchell and built in 1909-1911 for...
are located at 121 George Street.
The
Northern Lighthouse BoardThe Northern Lighthouse Board is the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for marine navigation aids around coastal areas.-History:...
is headquartered in an elegant Georgian townhouse at 84 George Street. From this location it remotely controls over 400
lighthouseA lighthouse is a tower, building, or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire and used as an aid to navigation and to pilots at sea....
s,
beaconA beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location.Beacons can also be combined with semaphoric or other indicators to provide important information, such as the status of an airport, by the colour and rotational pattern of its airport beacon, or of...
s,
buoyA buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...
s and other shipping aids around the coast of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and the
Isle of ManThe Isle of Man , or Mann , is a self-governing British Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Britain and Ireland. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Crown is represented by a Lieutenant Governor...
.
Night Life
George Street is home to many upmarket pubs, clubs and bars. Some of the attractions include:
- Le Monde (Bar/Club/Hotel)
- The Dome
- Candy Bar
A chocolate bar is a confection in bar form comprising some or all of the following components: cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar, milk. The relative presence or absence of these components form the subclasses of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. In addition to these main...
- Bar 38
- Opal Lounge (Hosted the MTV
MTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
Europe Music Awards after-party).
- Tigerlily
See also
- Edinburgh New Town
The New Town, a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
- Edinburgh Old Town
The Old Town of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has preserved its medieval plan and many Reformation-era buildings....
- Economy of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, as the capital of Scotland, is usually regarded as one of the twin engines of the Scottish Economy alongside Glasgow. Edinburgh has been consistently one of the most prosperous parts of the country and has the strongest economy of any city in the UK outside London...
- Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Scotland's capital during three weeks every August alongside several other arts and cultural festivals, collectively known as the...
External links