Past Times

Ringing up memories: A tour of Aberdeen’s most iconic shops

1979 - Piles of textiles tower high at Bracken Fabrics’ Aberdeen branch on Union Street.

By Giada La Vite

April 17 2022, 6:00 am

April 17 2022, 6:00 am

For this week’s edition of the Aberdonian, we collected old photos taken in and around some of Aberdeen’s most iconic shops.

From glamorous department stores like Esslemont & Macintosh and Watt and Grant to family businesses, we have it all in this gallery.

Get ready to be transported back in time to a Granite City free of chain stores and shopping malls.

Do you recognise any familiar faces in the photos below? And have you ever been to any of these shops?

1981 – Rona Robertson, 24, has a go on lot 60 in the Watt and Grant auction.

1988 – Shoppers make their way along Schoolhill in their bid to find bargains.

1977 – Shoppers queue up for the latest styles at Frasers.

1993 – C&A sales assistants Hannah Noble, left, and Vi Grant sort through hangers for recycling.

1962 – The shopfront of the prestigious Esslemont & Macintosh store on Union Street.

1959 – A view of Aberdeen’s Union Street/Bridge Street junction with C&A on the corner.

1987 – A skier tries on the latest slopes fashion at Marshall’s on George Street.

1981 – The new-look cosmetics and perfumery counter at Frasers on Union Street.

1989 – Esslemont & Macintosh sales assistant Sandra Gray arranges hats prior to the mid-season sale.

1971 – A varied selection of shops lining Castlegate.

1986 – Sheila Tanner, daughter of Athol Benzie, who owned Arnotts until 1955, visits for the store’s closure.

1992 – Alex and Averill Chalmers, owners of Newmarket Tapes at Aberdeen Market.

1988 – Esslemont & Macintosh model Karin Swinney shows off some of the wares.

1993 – Clare Lewington, 18, with some dinosaur toys on sale at Occasions in Aberdeen’s Bon Accord Centre.

1974 – John Findlater, managing director of Findlaters, with shoes for sale.