Charlotte House, 2, 4, 6, 8 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh

Charlotte House, located at 2, 4, 6, and 8 South Charlotte Street in Edinburgh, is a large four-storey and double attic neo-Baroque retail, cafe, and office development built in 1903 by T Duncan Rhind, with later additions by J D Cairns in 1924 and Cairns and Ford in 1935. The building features polished cream sandstone ashlar with glass and bronze curtain walls. The original narrow four-bay gabled facades face south and east, showcasing Ionic columns and keystoned segmental pediments at the first floor, with rusticated blocks at the third floor. Roman windows and finials adorn the gables, including a notable aediculed niche at the apex facing Princes Street. The later corner section has a splayed angle and metal panels that echo earlier design motifs. Each elevation includes three curtain-walled bays, unified by a mutuled cornice and a mansard roof with two tiers of bipartite dormers, segmentally pedimented at the first level. The ground floor features a segmentally arched polished granite facade, while the three northern bays display a tripartite polished granite facade at ground level, with polished sandstone on the upper floors that subtly repeats earlier details, along with the cornice and roof design.

The interior has been much altered, but fine Art Deco details remain in the basement areas and toilets. The windows are timber and metal casements, and the roof is covered with grey-green slates.