Chambers Street is a street in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, in the southern extremity of the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

. The street is named after William Chambers of Glenormiston, the

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

who was the main proponent of the ''Edinburgh Improvement Act'' (1867) which led to its creation in 1870. A narrow lane named North College Street and three residential squares built in the 18th century—Adam Square, Argyle Square and Brown Square—disappeared in the process. The street is dominated by University and museum buildings. It also hosts a variety of restaurants and venues.

Notable buildings

Buildings by date of completion: * Old College,

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, 1791-1827 (Old College faces onto South Bridge, and predates the construction of Chambers Street; the facade to Chambers Street is noticeably flat for a building designed variously by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

and

William Henry Playfair William Henry Playfair Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century who designed the Eastern, or Third, New Town, Edinburgh, New Town and many of Edinb ...

) * Minto House, 1878, the site was formerly the home of Lord Dunsinane, now the University of Edinburgh Department of Architecture * Royal Museum, 1888 * Adam House, University of Edinburgh, 1953 (designed by William Kininmonth) *

Edinburgh Sheriff Court Edinburgh Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in Chambers Street in Edinburgh, within the sheriffdom of Edinburgh and Borders. History Until the mid-1990s, hearings took place in the Justiciary Building, Edinburgh, Old Sheriff Court in the Lawnma ...

, 1995 *

Museum of Scotland A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

, 1998 * Former Edinburgh Dental Hospital and School

References

{{Transport in Edinburgh Streets in Edinburgh Old Town, Edinburgh