Virtual tour of Union Street, Aberdeen

[Aberdeen Archives]

Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives have created a new virtual tour of Union Street in Aberdeen, showing shop fronts from the 1970s.  Using a site called History Pin, the photographs have been used on modern Google Streetview, so you can see what was there and what's there now - a lot has changed over the last 40 odd years, but there are still a few similiarities!

The tour can be seen by visiting their History Pin page.

[Gadget]

Thanks for linking this. I was there in the 1970s but sadly there's no E&Ms in the old photos - one of the main department stores in Aberdeen at that time... or have I missed it?

I bought some rather nice clothes from there.

Gadget

Added - http://news.stv.tv/north/299493-former-esslemont-and-macintosh-could-be-turned-into-aberdeen-hotel/

https://i2.wp.com/www.pressandjournal.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/10/esslemont-and-mac-aberdeen-660x496.jpg

[Flattybasher9]

That is the weirdest view I have seen of Union Street in all my 63 years of living in Aberdeen. Why on earth did they use a fisheye lens, every view is curved. The corners are all rounded and distorted. At the top of Market Street, there is the bottom half of a motor bike in 3 views.

Regards

Malky

[Aberdeen Archives]

The fish-eye effect is frustrating, but it's to do with the version of Google Maps that History Pin uses.  Not being fully up to speed on the technical aspects, History Pin have explained as being because they use "Google Maps API (Version 3) which has some differences with the standard Google Maps & Street view."

No E&Ms, unfortunately!  The photographs came from the Planning Department, and aren't a complete record of Union Street.

[Flattybasher9]

Just for you Gadget

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/401606

https://www.flickr.com/photos/iainh124a/8492095689/

Regards

Malky

[Gadget]

You could have let me know about the sale a wee bit earlier, Malky 

We were there just as the 'Oil Boom' was underway. I remember the pressure on housing, roads and other infra structure and also the  American store!  We lived in Old Aberdeen, just off the High Street,  and could here the Pittodrie roar from our garden.