2 James Street, Portobello, Edinburgh

2 James Street in Portobello, Edinburgh, is possibly an earlier 19th century classical house with later additions and alterations. It is a two-storey, four-bay structure with a square plan. The ground floor features deeply channelled ashlar, while the first floor has droved ashlar. The side and rear elevations are constructed of snecked rubble. Architectural details include a base course, band course, apron and cill course to the first floor, as well as a cornice and blocking course.

On the southeast (principal) elevation, there is a door located in the left-centre bay, which has a 2-pane rectangular plate glass fanlight above it, along with a window on the first floor. Each of the bays to the right contains a window on both floors. A later full-height, ashlar canted window is present in the bay to the left.

The northwest elevation features a large stair window in the center, with a relieving arch above it, and windows in the flanking bays on the first floor. There is a single-storey piended extension as well.

The windows throughout the building include 8-paned timber sash and case windows, plate glass timber sash and case windows in the canted window, and 12-pane timber sash and case windows at the rear. The roof is piended and covered with grey slate. The side elevations have wallhead, shouldered, and corniced ashlar stacks, while there is a small wallhead stack to the left at the rear.

The interior was not seen in 1994. The boundary walls are made of droved ashlar with coping and were formerly topped with cast-iron railings. At the rear, there is a tall rubble garden wall, and the original cast-iron gateposts remain in place.