Edinburgh’s Queen Street is a broad, open thoroughfare with imposing buildings on one side and gardens on the other, giving a sense of space in the heart of the city.
Now a busy east-west traffic route after cars were removed from Princes Street, it has a long and distinguished history. It was named in honour of Queen Charlotte of Mecklenberg, consort of George IIIi, and is recognised as the longest parade of 18th century architecture in Edinburgh.
It used to be home to the Mary Erskine School and the Edinburgh base of the BBC and is still graced by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and an array of prestigious organisations like the Royal College of Physicians.
This selection of pictures from our archives includes major renovations of some of these buildings, as well as protests outside the BBC and reminders of other things that have happened in the historic street.
5. Burning leaves, Queen Street Gardens
A gardener is pictured burning fallen leaves in the private gardens at Queen Street, Edinburgh, in October 1972. Photo: Denis Straughan
6. Police motorcycle and car collide
The accident scene after a police motorcycle and a car were involved in a collision in Queen Street. Photo: Justin Spittle
7. Addressing the Haggis
Addressing the Haggis at a Burns Supper in the Kintore Rooms, Queen Street, Edinburgh, in January 1974. Photo: Stan Warburton
8. Portrait Gallery statues
A total of 30 historical figures decorate the outside of the neo-Gothic Scottish National Portrait Gallery on the corner of Queen Street and North St Andrew Street, which was designed by Robert Rowand Anderson. The historical figures are joined by a statue of Clio, the muse of history, by contemporary Scottish sculptor Alexander Stoddart, which stands at the top of the building above the entrance. Photo: Bill Henry