NEW FOR 2025
Remembering Dundee city centre at its best
Before the creation of retail parks on the outskirts of the city, the centre of Dundee was the place to be. Everything happened ‘doon the toon’. Going for your messages, visiting the bank, paying bills, getting your hair done, meeting friends for a pint or a coffee, going to the pictures, choosing your ‘pick and mix’ or favourite records at Woolworths, visiting the library, or just having a look, the city centre offered it all. It was an excuse to get dressed up and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of a prosperous community. As you walked around, you’d see the Steeple churches, the unicorn on the Merket cross, the Caird Hall in the city square, the trams traversing the city, the newspaper salesmen and buskers, and the aroma from the many food stalls and coffee shops. Most of these places and experiences are now part of Dundee’s history but some popular landmarks – pubs, museums and shopping centres; even the old tramlines in the Murraygate – are still there in some shape or form. This nostalgic panel celebrates the highlights of a typical trip ‘doon the toon’, and names the shopping streets and long-gone retailers that Dundonians knew and loved.
1. G. L. Wilson’s department store
At the centre of this panel is G. L. Wilson’s department store building, a destination for shoppers in the first half of the 20th century. It was founded in 1894 by Gavin Laurie Wilson, the son of a Lanarkshire farmer, on a corner site at Murraygate and Commercial Street. Visiting G. L. Wilson’s was an experience of sophistication and glamour: customers were treated like royalty, their purchases neatly wrapped up in brown paper and string. And while this was happening, the money to pay for the goods was placed in a container, sucked up a tube and conveyed to the cashiers’ office where the change and the receipt was returned, in the same way, back to the service desk. The department store closed in December 1971, and following refurbishment, the building now hosts contemporary retail units.
2. The Naughty Monkey
You’ll find this bronze sculpture by Angela Hunter in front of the entrance to the Keiller Centre on the High Street. Perched on an information board, the naughty monkey has rearranged the letters of ‘INFORMATION’ to now say ‘IN MA FAIR TOON’. Hunter’s inspiration came from the ancient Lady Mary Fair, once held annually in Dundee, which featured an organ grinder with a small monkey. The final Fair was held in 1933.
3. Public baths
The idea of having public wash-houses for Dundee’s working people was first suggested at a public meeting in 1844, and they were eventually built on a piece of land near the old Earl Grey Dock donated by the Harbour trustees. The original Docks Bath House opened in July 1848 and in its first year of operation, 14,601 baths were taken. In 1873, Dundee’s new Victorian swimming baths were opened, with changing boxes around the sides, diving stages, springboards and bath stairs. On the opening day, the water temperature was 10.5-14°C – a big difference to modern pools which are around 28°C. The original baths were replaced by an upgraded pool in 1876, then reconstructed again in 1909-1910. What was by then known as the Central Baths were demolished in 1975, after the original Olympia leisure centre opened in 1974, with its wave machine, rapid river, flumes and café – for that all-important ‘shivery bite’. This, in turn, was replaced in 2013 with a new Olympia leisure centre in the Seagate.
4. Going to the pub
Back in the mid-19th century, Dundee is believed to have had one pub for every 144 people and even as recently as 2015, the city was reported to have 115 individually registered pubs – 2.5 per cent of all Dundee businesses, and more pubs per head of population than any other Scottish city. Dundee’s oldest bar is The Pillars on Crichton Street which opened in 1864, but many others have survived for decades with very little change.
5. Post office
The former Dundee General Post Office was located at the intersection of Meadowside and Constitution Road, and the impressive Renaissance-style building was designed by Walter Wood Robertson between 1895 and 1898.
6. Florists & greengrocers
Dundee’s proximity to the fertile farmland of Angus and Perthshire meant access to seasonal fruit and vegetables. In the early 1800s, fresh produce was traded at the weekly Green Market in the High Street which later moved to the square at the bottom of Crichton Street in 1827. When that square was demolished in 1914, the market was held on Dock Street, at the back of the Caird Hall, until 1934. In the second half of the 20th century, popular shops for flowers and fruit included Dryden’s in Victoria Road, Castle Street and Union Street, and Betty White’s in Reform Street.
7. Lost & found
Dotted around the city centre is a series of street art by Jeremy Cunningham, entitled ‘Lost & Found’ and completed in 2020. A number of these can be found near the city churches, and along the Nethergate, High Street and Murraygate – each one is accompanied by a letter of the alphabet.
8. The Pillars Clock
Located on the building above the jewellers, Robertson & Watt, the clock depicts the old town house – the Pillars building – which served the people of the city from 1734 to 1932.
9. Music shops
For musical instruments, sheet music, records, tapes and CDs, Dundonians would head to I&N Records, Chalmers & Joy, Watts in the Wellgate, Largs in Whitehall Street, and Groucho’s. Top 20 hit records could also be found in Woolworths and upstairs in Boots.
10. Mortar & pestle
In 1850, there were 11 chemists practising in Dundee and, by 1900, that number had soared to 34. Notable 19th century pharmacies in the city centre were Davidson & Gray on the Nethergate, and Morgan Tower Pharmacy on Perth Road which was opened by A. Y. Barrie in 1874. Boots opened its first shop in Dundee in 1914 and still trades from what was formerly known as Strathtay House, on the corner of Reform Street.
11. Jewellers
As befits a wealthy city, in the 19th and 20th centuries, Dundee had its fair share of jewellers. H Samuel moved into Reform Street, opposite Boots, in 1909, where it vied for custom with Henderson’s, established in 1938, and Robertson & Watt which started life on the High Street in 1841. The clock hanging outside H Samuel was a popular meeting place for friends and lovers, known locally as ‘Duffer’s Corner’.
12. The Playhouse
At one time, Dundee had more cinemas and seats per head than anywhere else in the UK. One of these was the Playhouse Cinema, owned by the Green family who envisaged a chain of these throughout the country. John Fairweather was the architect, and his design featured an 85-foot high illuminated tower above the entrance, a grand foyer and a tearoom which served also as a ballroom. It could seat 4,100 people – many more seats than the Caird Hall – and its cosy ‘chummy seats’ were popular with courting couples. The first films to be shown there in 1936 were ‘We’re In The Money’ and ‘Lady Tubbs’. The Playhouse later became the Mecca Bingo hall and may soon turn into a live music venue.
13. Wall sign for shoppers
One of four charming signs which can be found on the wall of the former D. M. Brown department store, established in the High Street in 1888. D. M. Brown was acquired in 1952 by the House of Fraser Group and the store name was changed to Arnotts in 1972. During the Covid pandemic, the building served as a Covid Vaccination Centre.
14. Bulletin board
This bulletin board says ‘Stitchers Meet For Yarn’ – a tongue-in-check reference to The Dundee Tapestry project. Whether it be to meet ‘doon the toon’ for a blether or to collect coloured yarn for stitching the 38 panels, this project has brought many like-minded folk together and formed new and lasting friendships.
15. Snapshot moments
In the days before digital photography and camera phones, Dundee’s photo studios and developing shops did a roaring trade. Special moments were captured and developed by Jessops, Boots, Marlowe and I&N Photos, while the Tempest school photography team toured the city’s schools.
16. Pawnbroker’s sign
Three golden balls are the sign of a pawnbroker's shop, and Dundee had a few of its own: there was Dickson’s on the corner of Temple Lane, in West Port, and Mrs Elizabeth O'Ferrall on Tay Street. Today, you can still see a traditional pawnbroker’s sign hanging outside H&T, on the corner of Seagate.
17. Fashion shops
Going ‘doon the toon’ as a teenager meant staying ahead of the latest fashion trends – from high street chain stores and fancy department stores to cut-price clothing markets. Indeed, the opening of Honey boutique in Cairds department store, which catered exclusively for young people, was a real innovation at the time.
18. Bakers
Dundee’s famous for its pies and bridies which means it’s also a city with many bakeries – the most well-known being Goodfellow & Steven, Fisher & Donaldson, Clark’s, Wallace’s, Crawford’s, Bayne’s and Greggs.
19. The Wellgate Clock
This popular clock was installed in the Wellgate Centre in 1978, and was constructed by Suffolk clockmakers Haward Horological Ltd. When its bells ring out on each quarter of the hour, the characters on each side become animated and doors open to reveal the nursery rhyme characters behind them. Many Dundee folk have fond memories of watching and listening to this spectacle, especially at noon when every door opens in turn.
20. Furniture stores
Ask any Dundonian where they used to buy their furniture and the names Justice and Robertson are sure to be mentioned. Dundee-born Thomas Justice opened his first shop in Tally Street in 1872, and later established showrooms on Whitehall Street with a workshop behind. Meanwhile, John L. Robertson started buying and selling second-hand furniture in 1880 before moving into a smart, four-storey Art Deco-style building in Barrack Street, where the business continued until 2011. Less well-known were the East Brothers who had a quality chair-making business in the early 19th century. The factory started off in Albert Street, in the city centre, but moved to Lochee in 1899.
21. Time for tea (and coffee)
Many of Dundee’s smartest shops had their own tearooms and coffee shops – including Draffens, G. L. Wilson’s and D. M. Brown – where waitresses dressed in black and white uniforms served up with a polite smile. For those preferring something more exotic than tea or coffee, Greenhills in the Overgate sold tasty Sarsaparillas. Today, J. B. Braithwaite Ltd still supplies customers with quality coffee to brew at home as it has done from the Castle Street shop since 1932.
22. Street musicians
Scotland has a proud tradition of street-busking and Dundee is no different. One of the most recognisable buskers is Eric Gudmunsen, whose favourite spot outside Boots is depicted in this section. Among the songs he plays and sings is one of his own, written about the ‘Folk of Dundee’.
23. The City Square and Caird Hall
The Caird Hall was formally opened in 1923 by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), and is named after Sir James Caird, a local industrialist. He and his sister, Mrs Emma Grace Marryat, both donated funds to help complete the new City Square scheme in the 1930s.
24. Lilies & knots
The white lilies at the top of this panel echo the vase of lilies that appears on Dundee’s coat of arms. The city’s emblem also features two dragons with their tails entwined in green Celtic knots – as stitched at the bottom of this panel.