Princes Mall Shopping Centre

Princes Mall, bottom left

Princes Mall (formerly Waverley Market and later Waverley Shopping Centre) is a shopping centre in Edinburgh, Scotland.

It is located at the east end of Princes Street in the City Centre, next to Edinburgh Waverley railway station. Once home to independent retailers, it now houses mainly high street chain stores, as well as a large food court.

Designed in the early 1980s, it was built with its roof at the street level of Princes Street, with a landscaped plaza at that level, in order to preserve the view from Princes Street across to Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town. It opened as Waverley Market in November 1984, the name referencing the food market that once occupied the site. An official opening by Queen Elizabeth II took place on 25 July 1985.[1]

2006 redevelopment of the mall

In the centre's early years the atria were adorned by luxuriant planting and water features, with shoppers descending on escalators from Princes Street through a canopy of trees to the underground plaza.[2]

Major refurbishment in the early 1990s coincided with a change of name to Waverley Shopping Centre. A prominent and popular aspect of the mall introduced at this time was the large water feature which dominated the main atrium and incorporated the 11 ft high Herons Dream sculpture.[3][4] This was removed during refurbishment in the early 2000s when the centre adopted its current name.

The mall suffered a decline in popularity in the early 2000s with 12 of the retail units empty at one stage. Major new lettings to fashion retailers CULT and AB10 may indicate the reversal of this decline helped by the improvements carried out by Network Rail to the Waverley Steps access to Waverley Station by the installation of new stairs and escalators, with a glazed roof, and lifts.

Edinburgh's main tourist information centre is located within the same development. It is accessed through a separate entrance on top of the mall.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Princes Mall. "History of Princes Mall". Princesmall-edinburgh.co.uk. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  2. ↑ Shopping Centre Design by N Keith Scott
  3. ↑ "Hilary Cartmel , Metalwork - at Commission a Craftsman". Commissionacraftsman.com. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  4. ↑ "Herons Dream". Flickr.com. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  5. ↑ "Edinburgh Tourist Information Centres". Britainexpress.com. Retrieved 20 September 2012.

External links

Coordinates: 55°57′10″N 3°11′30″W / 55.95278°N 3.19167°W / 55.95278; -3.19167

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