3-003-919 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The new General Post Office, about to be erected at Edinburgh, 1861. View of '...the splendid edifice as it will be when completed...The building will consist of three stories, rising to the height of 66ft. in Princes-street, and to considerably upwards of 100ft. at the south side looking to the Old Town...Towards the northern corners the building will be considerably higher than the facade towards the North Bridge, giving to those portions of the structure the character of massive towers. The principal floor will be decorated externally by a series of sixty Corinthian columns, running round the whole building with the exception of the east side...The floor above is decorated by an equal number of pilasters supporting an enriched cornice and balustrade...On the second floor there are spacious offices for the secretary's and comptroller's departments, for the dead-letter office, &c. The third floor is generally appropriated for clerks' chambers, and the north end provides accommodation for the resident housekeeper. Below the level of the street, on the North Bridge side, there is further accommodation for clerks, and also for the convenience and comfort of the letter-carriers when not on actual service'. From "Illustrated London News", 1861.