Claudia Massie

A tale of two cities

With the help of the V&A’s quietly confident new outpost, after decades of post-industrial decline, Dundee is now anything by ‘blank and dreary’

issue 01 September 2018

Not so long ago, the Dundee waterfront was presided over by a great triumphal arch, built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s visit in 1844. It was an imposing piece of decorative architecture, 84 feet high, and it dominates most views of the city painted over the ensuing century. It became a cherished symbol of Dundee but in 1964 they knocked it down and used the rubble as infill for a thuddingly insensitive road system that would effectively destroy the southern face of the city.

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