2-3 Baxter's Place, Leith Walk, Edinburgh

This is a substantial classical tenement block, built around 1800 for John Baxter. It occupies a prominent position on Leith Walk in Edinburgh, extending 19 bays along Baxter's Place, and includes a basement and attic level. The northern section of the building has shops built out to the front.

The building's principal facade, facing west, is characterised by advanced pavilions of six bays each, positioned to the outer left and right. The pavilions feature two timber-panelled doors with letterbox fanlights at the centre of the northern pavilion, accessed by steps between the shops. Windows in the first three bays of the left-hand pavilion have dropped cills and cast iron balconettes. Steps lead to basement recesses beneath the third and sixth bays of the central section, each with a timber-panelled door and letterbox fanlight; the fanlight on the right is a segmental design. A similar arrangement—steps, a platt, and a timber-panelled door with segmental fanlight—is present in the second bay from the right of the southern pavilion. Dormers punctuate the roof over the central four bays of the pavilions and most of the centre section.

The rear elevation (east) displays a large modern office block extension to the left. The central portion features two bowed sections, accommodating tripartite windows to the left and a three-bay bow to the right. Later extensions and alterations are visible in the lower sections to the right end. Dormers are also present on the roof.

The south elevation, facing Greenside Lane, is four bays wide. Most windows are blind or blocked, with the exception of those in the outer left bay. A blocked-up doorway, featuring a fluted Doric pilaster, is situated in the inner right bay.

Most windows retain their original 12-pane timber sash and case configuration. The roof is pitched, with a piend design on the outer pavilions, and covered in grey slates. Stone skews and skewputts are visible. The building is further distinguished by four corniced, droved ashlar ridge stacks, one corniced rendered ridge stack in the centre, a rubble gablehead stack with ashlar quoins on the south elevation, a rubble wallhead to the east, and circular cans atop all the stacks.

Spearhead and fir-cone finialled cast iron railings are set within ashlar coping, delineating the basement recesses, steps, and platts. Wrought iron lamp standards flank the platts at numbers 3 and 1.