The Building at 1-19 North Bridge

This building sits right at the gateway between Edinburgh’s Old Town and New Town, on the corner where the Royal Mile meets North Bridge. It was built between 1898 and 1899 as part of a major redevelopment when North Bridge was widened.

The design originated from a competition won by John Nichol Scott and James Anderson Williamson in 1896, though the final building was executed by different architects — William Hamilton Beattie and Andrew R Scott handled the centre and north sections, while Arthur George Sydney Mitchell and George Wilson designed the south section.

The style is Scots Renaissance Revival — the facade is polished cream sandstone ashlar with copper ogee-roofed turrets, carved thistles, roses, shamrocks, fleur-de-lis, and Renaissance strapwork decoration throughout. Look at those canted oriels on the first floor, the arched windows, and the turrets rising from the second floor — it’s a masterclass in late Victorian Scottish craftsmanship.

In 1906, a haberdasher called Patrick William Thomson moved his department store into the building. What started as a small drapery shop on South Bridge in 1889 grew into one of Edinburgh’s most beloved stores, affectionately known as “P.T.’s” and marketed as “The Shopping Centre of Scotland.” The store had 60 departments selling everything from furniture to fashion, and even had its own restaurant with an orchestra.

In 1976, House of Fraser renamed it Arnotts, which was deeply unpopular with locals who’d grown up calling it P.T.’s. The store closed for good in 1982. The building was then converted into the Carlton Hotel in 1984 , and today it operates as the Hilton Edinburgh Carlton.

Together with the Scotsman Building on the west side of North Bridge, this block forms what’s described as an imposing gateway between Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns — and that’s exactly what it feels like when you stand where you took that photo.