With some referring to it as the “Golden Turd”, it's safe to say the boldly-designed hotel development is not going to be universally admired – but that’s nothing new.We’ve had a trawl through the archives to find out what city residents made of 12 well-loved Edinburgh landmarks at the time when they were constructed. Spoiler alert: the response wasn’t always positive.
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. The Balmoral
Ahead of its completion in 1902, heritage watchdog the Cockburn Association were horrified at the scale of the new North British Station Hotel (now The Balmoral) on Princes Street. They would later come to recognise it as a “friendly monster”. Photo: Creative Commons
. Ross Fountain
When the Ross Fountain was erected, the conservative-minded Dean Ramsay of nearby St John’s Church was vehemently opposed to it. Ramsay labelled the nude figures on the structure as “grossly indencent and disgusting; insulting and offensive to the moral feelings of the community and disgraceful to the city”. Photo: Creative Commons
. Donaldson's School
When Queen Victoria opened the former Donaldson’s School in 1850, she liked it so much, Her Majesty is reported as having said the building was more impressive than many of her own palaces and that she would have preferred to stay there than at Holyrood. Photo: Creative Commons
5. Fettes College
The alma mater of Tony Blair among numerous other notable luminaries down the generations, Fettes College was described upon completion in 1870 as assuming “the form of a palatial edifice, in a style of architecture which may be described as French medieval”. Photo: Creative Commons
6. Castle Terrace
When Castle Terrace it was nearing completion in 1869, it was written in The Scotsman that architect James Gowans “will have earned the public gratitude as the donor what will our nearest approach to a Parisian boulevard”. Photo: Creative Commons
7. Old Royal Infirmary
With its handsome towers and turrets, it is today considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, but upon completion in 1879, the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary was unenthusiastically described as a building “in the domestic Gothic style” and “plain and unpretentious” in appearance. Photo: Creative Commons
8. St George's West Church, Shandwick Place
Described as a “complete novelty in Edinburgh architecture”, St George’s West Church in Shandwick Place was met with a great deal of approval in 1867. Photo: Creative Commons