Downtown – everything’s waiting for you

The Mcmanus Art Gallery and Museum in Dundee is literally providing a walk down memory lane in the here and now.

The Albert Square landmark’s recently unveiled new attraction, The Street, allows visitors to immerse themselves in a classic shopping thoroughfare from yesteryear that revives some of the famous retail names from its home city of old.

People can browse the windows of a traditional old toy shop, pawnbroker, shoe shop and furniture shop, and also peruse a department store’s vintage fashions – and even stand at a recreated old-time bar.

The offering, which opened earlier this month, is certainly proving popular among our readers, including Newport resident Stanley Gordon.

He recently popped along to the Mcmanus to take in the old-style interactive display, and has contacted Craigie to enthuse about the recreated town centre, which has benefited from theatrical flourishes courtesy of the expert staff at Dundee Rep.

Mr Gordon emails: “Congratulations to all who were involved in The Street exhibition at the Mcmanus.

“It was wonderful to see the old Dundee pub and the grocery store displayed amongst the other exhibits. The exhibition definitely has the ‘wow’ factor, and that is what I exclaimed to the attendant as I entered the gallery and saw the Wm Low and Company store!

“Great, too, to see shop names such as Draffens, Potters, Justice and The Toy Shop – which was situated in Whitehall Crescent – stirring fond memories. I also found the

items in the pawnbroker windows to be fascinating and varied. Flip books were helpful and informative, giving details about the various items in the window displays.

“Seeing fellow visitors browsing the window displays took me back to dark winter nights when one could ‘window shop’ the brightly lit stores in the city centre, whiling away the time before going to a concert in the Caird Hall, or catching a train or ferry home.”

The tradition of looking at the history of retail and brewing has been a popular museum feature for the best part of 150 years, and the Mcmanus has included relatively recent acquisitions from its collections in its latest display – items gathered over the past 40 years – to give visitors a vivid impression of the shopping culture of more recent decades.

Indeed, Stanley was so impressed by The Street that he believes there is a strong case for keeping it in place beyond its planned year-long run, saying: “It would be an asset to Dundee if the exhibition could be staged on a permanent basis.”

The Street continues until October 23 next year, with admission free of charge.

It is open Monday to Saturday from 10am-5pm, and on Sundays from 12.304.30pm.