Esslemont And Macintosh Department Store, 32-38 (Even Nos) Union Street

The Esslemont and Macintosh Department Store, located at 32-38 Union Street, was built in two phases: Nos 26-30 in 1892 by Ellis & Wilson and Nos 32-38 in 1897 by R G Wilson. This department store features a principal elevation facing Union Street, consisting of two buildings on corner sites connected by a corridor at the third storey over St Catherine's Wynd. The building on the right (Nos 26-30) is Classical in style, with four storeys and an attic, and has five bays. The left building (Nos 32-38) is in a Freestyle design, with five storeys and an attic, and has four bays. The exterior is made of grey granite ashlar, with tooled, coursed granite at the rear. It includes string courses and cill courses. There is a flat-roofed canopy above the ground floor on both the Union Street and Broad Street elevations, with the Broad Street canopy featuring a later harled extension from the 1870s. Some windows still have their original canopy blinds.

On the Union Street elevation, the right side (Nos 26-30) has a deep dentilled Doric frieze at the second storey, a blocking course, and a central pedimented wallhead dormer. The central bay features tripartite openings with stone pilastered mullions, and decorative architraved openings at the first storey that are corniced. There are palmette details at the corners and a tesserae fascia above the shops on St Catherine's Wynd displaying the Esslemont & Macintosh logo.

On the left side (Nos 32-38), there is a deep cornice above the third storey and a pair of Dutch gables with stacks at their apices. The windows are deep-set with stone mullions and transoms, and there are corbelled, canted oriel windows with four and five lights rising from the first storey. The rear features tall three-storey round-arched openings.

The upper storeys predominantly have plate glass timber sash and case windows, while the shop fronts have plate glass. The roofs are mansard style, covered with grey slates, and there are coped wallhead and gable stacks.

The interior of the building was comprehensively modernised as seen in 2006.