In 1781, a site in the New Town on George Street had been chosen to build a new assembly rooms which was funded by public subscription raised by the City. Invitations for plans were advertised in December 1781 and the architect John Henderson was commissioned to make designs and build the new assembly rooms. Henderson’s design cost over £6,000 and the building was constructed between 1782-87.

At some point after completion, Robert Adam made designs for alterations to the existing building. It is not clear who requested these or for what reason. These ambitious plans were not executed but the proposed portico on the principal (north) elevation could have possibly influenced the portico which was added in 1817-18 by William Burn.

Literary references: A.T. Bolton, The Architecture of Robert and James Adam, 1922, Volume II, Index, p.10; D. King, The Complete Works of Robert & James Adam and Unbuilt Adam, 2001, Volume 2, p. 54; J. Gifford, C. McWilliam (eds.), The Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh, 1991, pp. 281-282

Louisa Catt, 2023