The new decade began with a bang in January as the last remnants of Portobello Power Station were cleared by controlled explosion.
Elsewhere, Shandwick Place became the first place in the UK to install a ‘talking’ pedestrian crossing intended as an aid for blind people, while a new interactive videotex system, Prestel, was being promoted in the Capital by British Telecom.
Take a look through our photo gallery for a trip back to 1980 in Edinburgh.
17. Sibbald Travel's Prestel 1980
British Telecom promoted Prestel in Edinburgh in August 1980 - Sibbald Travel used the forerunner of today's on-line information databases. A television set hooked up to a dedicated terminal was used to receive information from a remote database via a telephone line. Photo: Alan Macdonald
18. WHEC pupils & computers 1980
Secondary school pupils work with the latest Apple II computers at the Wester Hailes Education Centre (WHEC) in Edinburgh, October 1980. Photo: Alan Macdonald