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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
David McLean

The giant lost Edinburgh power station that once dominated the city skyline

There was a time when Portobello Power Station and its 365ft chimney dominated the capital's skyline, but almost nothing remains of the coal-fired colossus today.

It powered the city for more than half a century and acted as a beacon for generations of holidaymakers on the road to Edinburgh's seaside.

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Despite its once enormous size, however, there are few visual remnants of Portobello Power Station.

Positioned at the head of King's Road, the power station's proximity to Portobello Beach is difficult to imagine, but these were different times.

Constructed from more than 710,000 red bricks, the coal-fired monster and its lofty chimney cut an unusual figure in a city that was then built mostly of stone.

It was opened by the Edinburgh Corporation in 1923 at a cost of £118,000 to meet the rapidly increasing demand for electricity.

King George V was present at the opening ceremony of the power station, which was fed via direct rail links from the many collieries dotted around the Lothians.

In 1936, the art deco-style Portobello Bathing Pool was built adjacent to the power station at Rosebank Lane. The two local landmarks would forge a close relationship, with heated waste water from the power station piped underneath the pool, keeping it warm whenever required.

Within months of the outbreak of the Second World War, Portobello Power Station was greatly expanded. City Architect Ebenezer James MacRae was responsible for the redesign, replacing the power station's original six stacks with one single chimney.

Measuring 365 feet tall, the iconic chimney could be seen belching out fumes for miles around and would serve as a beacon for holidaymakers on the road to the beach.

Between 1952 and 1955, Portobello Power Station was hailed as the most efficient in the UK and capable of producing enough energy to illuminate the streets, as well as powering the tramways and tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

After half a century of operation, the power station was decommissioned in the 1970s following the construction of two new coal-fired facilities - Cockenzie and Longannet in Fife.

Closing in 1977, the power station was demolished in stages over the next couple of years. During the detonation of its colossal chimney, it was reported that a number of windows on King's Road were shattered due to the impact of the blast.

While the power station is all but gone, save for sections of its original perimeter railings and main gate, it is recalled in the naming of Electra Place - one of the streets of the residential estate that occupies the site today.

In 2016, it emerged that the Portobello coat of arms, which once adorned the side of the building, had been salvaged and was being stored in a council yard in the west of the city.

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