Leith Tramways Depot, Edinburgh
This 1938 Modern Movement building held offices for the tram depot that stood behind it, where electric trams were stabled until 1956.
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Address:
165a Leith Walk,
Edinburgh
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Dating from 1938, this art deco building is the last remnant of the northern tram depot on Leith Walk (a second tram depot at Shrubhill to the south is due to receive a Red Wheel heritage plaque on being repurposed for housing). The building was used as offices for the tram depot proper to the rear which was demolished in 2017 - photo before demolition is enclosed. Lanterns from the depot were salvaged during demolishion and donated to a collector. The depot stabled the fleet of trams that operated until the 1950s; trams would access the depot using the routes to either side of the building. The building is therefore one of the remaining links to Leith’s longstanding history of trams and industry. Leith Walk was key to the Edinburgh Corporation Tramways, and in a case of the tail wagging the dog Leith influenced Edinburgh’s decision to switch from cable to electric operation.
The City of Edinburgh Council owns the C-listed office building, and the site was refurbished in 2016 to accommodate local charities and businesses. This £750,000 regeneration project saw the building rebrand-ed as Leith Walk Studios and reconfigured to offer a modern office space and a creative hub. The interior has original cornice preserved. Outside the building, seven shipping containers were placed in the back of the site to allow for more affordable work-places.
See also:
Near the foot of Leith Walk on the east side opposite the LMSR’s Red Sandstone Building. Now passed by the modern generation of Edinburgh Trams on the newly-extended route to Newhaven.
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Hunter, D.L.G Edinburgh's Transport - The Advertiser Press, Huddersfield, 1964
Gemma Jurado Fresnadillo, Alan Hunter-Blair & Bob Will, City of Edinburgh Council Trams York Place to Newhaven Archaeological Investigation on Leith Walk Guard Archaeology project 4870, 27th April 2023
