Edinburgh retro: 18 photo memories of Edinburgh in 1984 – including opening of Waverley Market shopping centre

Nineteen-Eighty Four – it wasn’t quite the nightmare vision of a dystopian future dreamt up by writer George Orwell. But still, bang in the middle of the Thatcher era, and during a time of economic upheaval, not everything was rosy in Edinburgh.

By Gary Flockhart

Published 23rd Jun 2023, 11:40 GMT

Updated 23rd Jun 2023, 11:42 GMT

On a brighter note, the city welcomed a shiny new shopping centre in the form of Waverley Market, and Mikhail Gorbachev visited Auld Reekie in his role of Chairman for the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Soviet Union.

Take a look through our photo gallery for 18 memories of Edinburgh in 1984 – and before you go, let us know your own recollections in the comments section.

Take a look through our photo gallery for 18 photo memories of Edinburgh in 1984.

1. Edinburgh in 1984

Take a look through our photo gallery for 18 photo memories of Edinburgh in 1984. Photo: Third Party

Rail passengers sitting on the circular plastic seating on the concourse of Waverley Station, newly modernised in November 1984.

2. New plastic seating

Rail passengers sitting on the circular plastic seating on the concourse of Waverley Station, newly modernised in November 1984. Photo: Albert Jordan

Hot air balloons rise from Holyrood Park silhouetted against the Edinburgh skyline in August 1984.

3. A lot of hot air

Hot air balloons rise from Holyrood Park silhouetted against the Edinburgh skyline in August 1984. Photo: Alan Macdonald

Exterior of newly-refurbished buildings in Bernard Street Leith in April 1984.

4. Bernard Street

Exterior of newly-refurbished buildings in Bernard Street Leith in April 1984. Photo: Hamish Campbell

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