Until the industrial revolution

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

 the current City Centre represented the full extent of the City of Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

. Now roughly encircled by the Marketgait dual carriageway

Dual carriageway

A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...

, the city centre is now the main shopping and commercial district. Unlike the city centre

Glasgow city centre

Glasgow city centre is the central business district of Glasgow, Scotland. Is bounded by the High Street to the east, the River Clyde to the south and the M8 motorway to the west and north which was built through the Townhead, Charing Cross, Cowcaddens and Anderston areas in the 1960s...

 of Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 many of the city centre’s (especially in the southern and eastern quarters) streets are not built on a grid plan

Grid plan

The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...

 and in that way have more in common with street plan of the Old Town of Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 (although most buildings in Dundee’s city centre date from the 19th century or later).

Areas

The modern city centre is still divided into the six medieval thoroughfares: the Seagait, Murraygait, Nethergait, Overgait, Wellgait and the Cowgait (“Gait” being an old Scots

Scots language

Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...

 word for street) which all remain today, although the “Overgate

Overgate Centre

The Overgate Centre is a shopping centre in Dundee, Scotland. It originally opened in the 1960's but in 1998 work began on demolishing part of the centre before undergoing a complete refurbishment. The centre was formally reopened in 2000. Throughout the building work a number of stores remained...

” and “Wellgate” are now enclosed shopping centres

Shopping mall

A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

. Many of the medieval closes were demolished in the late 19th Century to make way for larger and grander Victorian streets. However the area to the north of the city centre between Meadowside, Ward Road and the Marketgait is mostly based on a grid system with wide avenues and crescents, due to much of this area being planned and designed in the Victorian era

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

.

Cityscape

At the heart of the city centre is the City Square, home to two of Dundee’s principal cultural venues; the Caird Hall, the Marryat Hall along with the City Chambers

City Chambers

City Chambers can refer to:*Dundee City Chambers*Dunfermline City Chambers*Edinburgh City Chambers*Glasgow City Chambers...

 and other businesses. The multi-storey Tayside House, completed in 1976 to accommodate the then new Tayside

Tayside

Tayside Region was a local government region of Scotland from 15 May 1975 to 31 March 1996. It was created by the 1973 Act following recommendations made by the 1969 Wheatley Report which attempted to replace the mishmash of counties, cities, burghs and districts, with a uniform two-tier system...

 Regional Council and now the main headquarters of City of Dundee Council

Politics of Dundee

Politics in the Dundee City council area are evident in the deliberations and decisions of Dundee City Council, in elections to the council, and in elections to the Scottish Parliament and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom .In the European Parliament, the city area is...

 is located directly behind the City Square, although this is scheduled to be demolished by 2011, due partly to escalating maintenance and upgrading costs and (perhaps mostly to) being voted the “least loved” building in the City in a recent residents survey.

Offices

The offices of D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd

D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd

D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, is a publishing company based in Dundee, Scotland, best known for producing The Dundee Courier, The Evening Telegraph, The Sunday Post, Oor Wullie, The Broons, The Beano, The Dandy and Commando comics...

, Alliance Trust

Alliance Trust

Alliance Trust plc is a publicly-traded investment and financial services company, headquartered in Dundee, Scotland. Established in 1888, the firm operates the largest investment trust in Britain. Alliance Trust is the tenth-largest company based in Scotland...

,the McManus Galleries

McManus Galleries

McManus Galleries is a Gothic Revival-style building, located in the centre of Dundee, Scotland. The building houses a museum and art gallery with a collection of fine and decorative art as well as a natural history collection....

, the High School of Dundee

High School of Dundee

The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in the city of Dundee, Scotland which provides both primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils...

, University of Abertay Dundee

University of Abertay Dundee

The University of Abertay Dundee, usually known simply as Abertay University, is a modern university in Dundee, Scotland.- History :The University of Abertay Dundee was created in 1994, under government legislation granting the title University to the Dundee Institute of Technology...

 the Barrack Street Natural History Museum, the Episcopal

Scottish Episcopal Church

The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....

 St Paul’s Cathedral, Dundee Central Library, Dundee’s main railway station

Dundee railway station

Dundee railway station serves the city of Dundee on the east coast of Scotland. The station has two through platforms and two terminal platforms...

 and the headquarters of Tayside Police

Tayside Police

Tayside Police is the territorial police force covering the Scottish council areas of Angus, City of Dundee and Perth and Kinross . The total area covered by the force is with a population of 388,000....

 are all to be found in the city centre.

Statues

Many of Dundee’s public statues are scattered throughout the neighbourhood, subjects include Robert Burns

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...

, Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

, Admiral Duncan

Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan of Camperdown

Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan was a British admiral who defeated the Dutch fleet off Camperdown on 11 October 1797. This victory was considered one of the most significant actions in naval history.-Life:...

, the Strathmartine Dragon, James Carmichael

James Carmichael

James Carmichael was a Scottish Labour politician, the son of George Carmichael, one of the founding members of the Independent Labour Party....

, Desperate Dan

Desperate Dan

Desperate Dan is a wild west character in the British comic The Dandy. He first appeared in its first issue, dated 4 December 1937. He is apparently the world's strongest man, able to lift a cow with one hand. Even his beard is so tough he has to shave with a blowtorch.-History:The strip was...

 and Minnie the Minx

Minnie the Minx

Minnie the Minx is a fictional character in the British comic The Beano. Created and originally drawn by Leo Baxendale, she first appeared in issue 596, dated 19 December 1953 making her the third longest running Beano character, behind only Dennis the Menace and Roger the Dodger...

, there is also a plaque to William Wallace

William Wallace

Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....

, on the supposed site where he began his war for independence by murdering the son of the English governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

, sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 or magistrate

Magistrate

A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

 of Dundee after he had made a constant habit of bullying him and his family, although this local folk tale may or may not be true, it is known that that St Paul’s Cathedral, where the plaque is located is the site of Dundee’s old castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

, which the army of Wallace and Andrew Moray

Andrew Moray

Andrew Moray , also known as Andrew de Moray, Andrew of Moray, or Andrew Murray, was a prominent military leader of patriotic forces during the Scottish Wars of Independence. He led the rising in northern Scotland in the summer of 1297 against the occupation by King Edward I of England,...

 laid siege to early in the Wars of Scottish Independence

Wars of Scottish Independence

The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries....

.

Developments

In recent years there has been a lot of development of the city with lots of construction work going on, with the Scottish Social Services Council, The Care Commission and the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator recently relocating to Riverside area and Communities Scotland and Her Majesty's Inspector of Education moving to the Greenmarket area.