5, 6 Elm Row, Edinburgh

Designed by W. H. Playfair in 1821 and constructed from circa 1823, this is a near-symmetrical, long classical palace-fronted range incorporating shops at ground floor level. The principal elevation is forty-two bays wide across three storeys, with attic floors to the advanced pavilions.

The building is arranged with five-bay advanced pavilions to the outer left and right of the west (principal) elevation. The central pavilion contains three-bay advanced sections flanking a six-bay central section. To the south-west, a three-storey and attic five-bay quadrant corner is formed with a two-storey tetrastyle portico in antique Roman Doric order to the first floor. To the north-west, a three-storey and attic three-bay splay corner features a two-storey tetrastyle Ionic portico to the first floor.

The exterior is predominantly constructed in polished ashlar to the principal elevation (painted to ground floor), with coursed rubble and dressed margins to the rear. Horizontal divisions are marked by a base course, a band between ground and first floors, cill cornice to the first floor (excluding the south-west elevation), cill band to the second floor on the principal elevation only, main cornice dividing the second and attic floors, eaves cornice (defaced to Nos. 4–8), and a blocking course. The fenestration to the upper floors is predominantly regular.

West (Principal) Elevation: The ground floor displays original round-arched openings. To the first and tenth bays from the left are modern timber doors with original stilted segmental fanlights containing teardrop and circle glazing patterns. The nineteenth and twenty-fourth bays contain modern timber doors with blocked segmental fanlights. The thirty-second bay has a modern timber door with a segmental fanlight. The thirty-sixth bay has a modern door with replica teardrop glazing to the fanlight, flanked to the left (thirty-fifth bay) and right (thirty-seventh bay) by windows with replica teardrop glazing to fanlights. The thirty-eighth and fortieth bays contain windows; the thirty-ninth and forty-first bays have timber-panelled doors; and the forty-second bay has a timber-panelled door. All these ground-floor openings retain their original round-arched form with teardrop glazed segmental fanlights. The fenestration pattern from the sixteenth to eighteenth bays at first-floor level has been replaced by a single large out-of-character quadripartite window.

North-West Elevation: An advanced three-bay section occupies the centre. The centre bay at ground floor contains a two-leaf timber-panelled door with a large letterbox fanlight of three central panes bordered by narrow margin lights, with flanking windows. To the first floor, four giant Ionic columns divide the bays, supporting an entablature with dentilled cornice and pediment above. The attic floor has pilaster-strips dividing the bays, with a blind window to the centre bay.

South-West Elevation: A slightly recessed curved elevation is punctuated at ground floor by round-arched openings framing a two-leaf timber-panelled door to the centre bay, with flanking windows, all with teardrop glazed segmental fanlights and ornamental cast-iron grates below the cills. At the first floor, the dividing bays feature giant engaged Roman Doric columns flanked to the outer left and right by antae, supporting an entablature with modillioned cornice. The attic floor has pilaster-strips dividing the bays and a blind window to the second bay from the left.

Rear Elevation: Two narrow semi-curved receding sections occupy the far left.

Glazing: The ground floor predominantly contains out-of-character modern plate glass, save to the north-west elevation, south-west elevation, and right pavilion of the west elevation, which retain sixteen-pane glazing bordered by narrow margin lights. The upper floors are predominantly glazed with twelve-pane timber sash-and-case windows. Plate glass in timber sash-and-case windows occurs to the second to tenth bays (inclusive) on the west elevation, the sixteenth to eighteenth bays (second floor) on the west elevation, the twentieth and twenty-first bays on the west elevation, the twenty-fifth to twenty-seventh bays (second floor only) on the west elevation, and the thirty-third to thirty-seventh bays (inclusive) on the west elevation. Six-pane glazing to the top sash and plate glass to the bottom sash appears to the first floor at the twenty-eighth to thirty-first bays (inclusive) on the west elevation. Four-pane glazing in timber sash-and-case windows occurs to the first floor at the eleventh to fifteenth bays (inclusive). The attic floor is predominantly glazed with eight-pane timber sash-and-case windows (predominantly twelve-pane timber sash-and-case to the rear).

Roof and Chimneys: A double-pitched roof with some piened sections to the pavilions is covered in graded grey slates with stone skews and skewputts. To the north pavilion, there is one mutual ridge stack to the far left, one ridge stack to the centre, and one wallhead stack to the right, all corniced ashlar preceded by three linked individual octagonal flues. To the three-storey sections, one corniced rendered ridge stack fronts the elevation, one corniced rendered ridge stack is positioned to the rear, and two corniced wallhead stacks (brick to the north section, rendered to the south section) are located to the rear. To the central pavilion, corniced, partly rendered wallhead stacks occupy the far left and far right, with three corniced, predominantly rendered ridge stacks to the centre. To the south pavilion, one mutual ridge stack is positioned to the far right, one ridge stack to the centre, and one wallhead stack to the left, all corniced ashlar preceded by three linked individual octagonal flues. Circular cans cap all stacks.

Interior: The ground floor front room of No. 11 Elm Row is subdivided by a screen of two Ionic columns. A round-arched opening leads to the back room and features an architraved doorpiece with ornate mouldings and a raised keystone bearing an eagle motif. An egg-and-dart ceiling cornice and plaster ceiling border complete the decoration.