The Usher Hall is one of the most iconic buildings in Edinburgh city centre - but it could have ended up looking very different.
First proposed in the late 19th century, construction of the Lothian Road landmark was subject to a series of false starts and lengthy delays not too dissimilar to the modern-day Edinburgh Trams debacle.
And from its inception in 1896, to its eventual opening in 1914, the plan for how the Usher Hall was going to look and where it was going to be sited changed numerous times.
READ MORE: Edinburgh local gobsmacked after discovering 'ghost street' hidden under tarmac
An artist's sketch has been uncovered in the British Newspaper Archive which shows how the world-famous venue was originally going to be built facing Castle Terrace and designed in an opulent Italian renaissance style.
The sketch, which was published in the Edinburgh Evening News in February 1904, shows a large dome and finial topped main auditorium fronted by a second hall with an imposing portico and a flight of steps.
At first glance, it looks like a far more elaborate construction than what was eventually built at the outbreak of the First World War.
The area which is now occupied by Castle Terrace car park would have formed a grand landscaped approach to the concert hall with a semi-elliptical perimeter wall, topped with stone obelisks surmounted by "massive" electric lamps and a beautiful balustrade built into the steep incline at King's Stables Road.
As for the hall itself, it was estimated that it would be able to accommodate around 3,500 people - more than the present-day Usher Hall's 2,900 total capacity - and that the second smaller hall to the front would be able to act as a meetings and events area with room for up to 800 people.
Sign up to our Edinburgh Live nostalgia newsletters for more local history and heritage content straight to your inbox
In the end of course, this vision of how the Usher Hall was going to look would never get off the drawing board.
Other grand plans for the venue, which at one point looked as if it might be built in West Princes Street Gardens and even the Meadows, also fell by the wayside with money shortfalls playing a big factor in the delays.
A site for the Usher Hall was finally established in 1910 when the Board School on Lothian Road shut its doors.
All previous designs were scrapped in favour of the grand circular auditorium which stands today. The total cost was £134,000 – including £4k for the organ.
The hall was named after Edinburgh brewer Andrew Usher, whose donation of £100,000 was eventually matched by council contributions and other donors.
Construction of the venue began in 1911 and the building officially opened in March 1914, with a performance by the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union and the Scottish Orchestra.
READ NEXT:
Edinburgh weather: City set for 'mini-heatwave' with 20C temperatures
Edinburgh outdoor market's famous giant pink King Kong and where it is now
Medics warn 'world is not prepared' as patients infected with highly contagious disease
Incredible moment Beyonce shouts kind message to Edinburgh fan after spotting her sign
Edinburgh OAP who went viral during pandemic facing care home eviction as funds run out
