Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Sneak peek inside historic Victorian toilets in new before-and-after tour of Union Terrace Gardens

Explore the forgotten toilet block in 360 walkthrough of refurbished park in Aberdeen.

The toilet blocks are now part of the Pavillion at Union Terrace Gardens. Supplied by Zynq 360
The toilet blocks are now part of the Pavillion at Union Terrace Gardens. Supplied by Zynq 360

A disused Victorian toilet block in Aberdeen can now be seen in a new online tour of the refurbished Union Terrace Gardens.

Images show the gents and ladies toilets at the Union Street end of Union Terrace Gardens.

The full tour of the gardens and inside the buildings gives an insight into how the area looked before and after the project.

The space remains largely in its original condition but is still closed to the public hence the virtual tour.

However, the toilets are directly connected to the Union Street Pavilion, and would come with any tenancy agreement.

View of the gents toilets in the virtual tour of the Victorian toilets at the now-refurbished Union Terrace Gardens in Aberdeen.
The gents toilets and the long row of urinals. Image: Zynq 360

A historic space with a vision for the future

The pavilion is currently used as office space but Bob Keiller, head of Our Union Street, believes the Victorian toilets could be transformed into the city’s quirkiest bar.

While simply an idea currently, with no plans in place, Mr Keiller envisions it becoming “a small French cocktail bar called La Vie”.

He said: “I think the combination of the new and the old is compelling and where we can we should embrace the heritage that we have along Union Street, but it also shouldn’t hold us back from making progress and developing new facilities where we need them.

“The toilets come from another era and are atmospheric with lots of character and it would great to see that used in some way.”

Mr Keiller says the male toilets can no longer be used as they are decommissioned, but the female toilets can now be used by both males and females accessed through the pavilion.

He notes other cities have created new and funky dining and entertaining spaces with similar spaces.

The Union Street pavilion is one of three on Union Terrace, the other two now occupied, one as coffee shop and the other as a wine bar.

Our Union Street and Aberdeen Inspired have temporarily set up in the pavilion but would relocated to make way for an ambitious and visionary tenant.

Section of the Victorian toilets with green walls, decorative tiling and ornate wash-hand basins.
The ornate wash-hand basins are still intact. Image: Zynq 360

Victorian toilet block at Union Terrace Gardens a blast from the past

Those taking the virtual tour can see images of the gardens in its current condition and compare and contrast the present images with how it looked in the past.

The tour begins at the Rosemount Viaduct end of Union Terrace Gardens.

Users can worth their way through UTG with 360 images, with the tour ending at the Union Street Pavilion.

Rows of urinals with intricate tiling and heritage fixtures and fittings can be seen in the photos.

Mr Keiller said: “People do like things that feel traditional and feel authentic to the history of the place.

“You see it across many European cities, where people relish things that are different.

“Aberdeen during the 70s and 80s, we stripped out a lot of the fittings and features of buildings and what was left was quite bland and boring retail spaces, so we have a way to go to build back some of the character into Union Street.

“That blend of modernity and history could make for a compelling future.”

Cubicles in the toilets at Union Square Gardens with intricate wall and floor tiling.
Intricate tiling from a bygone era. Image: Zynq 360
Golden ornate fixtures and fittings in the Victorian toilets
The fixtures and fittings in the Victorian toilets. Image: Zynq 360

Conversation