252-254 Morrison Street, Edinburgh

252-254 Morrison Street is a mid to late 19th century tenement block that stands three stories above a basement and features a symmetrical, palace-fronted design. The building has 14 bays and includes a central pavilion that projects forward and is topped with a pediment. At the ground floor, there is a built-out pub frontage. The basement is constructed of droved sandstone ashlar, while the upper floors are made of polished sandstone ashlar with polished dressings. There are band courses between the basement and ground floors, as well as between the ground and first floors. A cill course is present at the first and second floors, with a cornice and blocking course above. The openings have plain architraves, and the ground floor windows have recessed aprons. The first-floor central group features consoles flanking the aprons beneath projecting cills, while the upper floors have bracketed projecting cills. Ashlar steps and entrance platts extend over the basement.

On the principal elevation, a modern pub fascia spans the central four bays, which includes two-leaf timber panelled doors on the outer left and right. The fenestration above is regular. To the right, there is a five-bay group featuring a part-glazed door with a rectangular fanlight in the central bay at the basement, with windows in the remaining bays. The ground floor has a deep-set timber panelled door with a rectangular fanlight in the central bay and the outer left bay, with windows in the other bays. The left five-bay group mirrors this arrangement with doors in the central and outer right bays.

The east and west elevations adjoin No 266 to the west and No 250 to the east. The north elevation was not visible in 2000. The building features 2-pane timber sash and case windows, with modern plate glass windows at the pub front. The roof material is not visible, but there is a coped blocking course and evenly disposed rendered and coped stacks with cylindrical cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods are also present.

The interior was not seen in 2000. The property has fleur-de-lys-headed cast-iron railings, some of which are missing, flanking the basement steps and mounted on an ashlar cope. There are also a pair of free-standing, cast-iron tapered polygonal lamp standards, which are missing their globes, connected by a segmental arch to No 254.