Aberdeen City Council has confirmed that work to transform Union Terrace Gardens will begin within weeks.
A ceremonial turf-cutting was held ahead of construction getting under way on the £25.7 million project on Monday, September 9.
The first steps will involve closing off a slip road that will become the site of one of three new pavilions, and improving drainage in the Victorian park which opened in 1879.
Council co-leader, Douglas Lumsden, said: “In transforming Union Terrace Gardens, we are making history in the heart of Aberdeen.
“This is an enormously exciting time for the city as we increase our cultural, heritage and tourism offer and enjoy all the economic benefits that brings.
“P&J Live has just opened, the redeveloped Aberdeen Art Gallery will follow in November, and with UTG we are about to embark a project that will further electrify the city centre.”
Fellow Council co-leader, Jenny Laing, added: “Union Terrace Gardens is among the city’s best loved places and it was vital we got this project right in every detail.
“That takes time – but it has been time well spent and we are about to be rewarded for the hours of extensive community consultation and diligent design work.
“The sympathetic regeneration of Union Terrace Gardens will ensure it remains a unique and enduring feature of our city centre, accessible for all to enjoy, and the start of work is another sign of the momentum building throughout Aberdeen during a period of incredible transformation.”
Councillor Marie Boulton, the authority’s culture spokeswoman, said: “We are taking all that’s wonderful about Union Terrace Gardens – its setting, its greenery, its heritage – and enhancing that.
“The design is a direct response to how people wanted their city to evolve.
“That we are ready to start work is truly momentous.”