1871 – Seaside Pier, Portobello, Edinburgh

Architect: Thomas Bouch

0010

A promenade pier, 1250 feet long, with, at the seaward end, a substantial pierhead surmounted by an imposing pavilion with restaurant, bar and bandstand. The new pier was the first of its kind in Scotland and the occasion was graced by the civic dignitaries of Edinburgh, Leith and Musselburgh. In the long run the pier proved to be a financial failure, the bad winter weather of the Firth of Forth bringing heavy expenditure on repairs and alterations. Nevertheless, it continued in business until the First World War. The end came in 1917 when the winter gales wrought such destruction that the structure was declared unsafe. Soon after what remained was demolished.