Lawnmarket
The Lawnmarket was originally considered as part of the High Street, which accounts for the street numbering being a continuation of the High Street numbers. As an individual section it became known as the Land Market and, corruptly, the Lawn-market. On Ainslie's map of 1780, it is Lawn Market.
The street today is dominated by tourist-oriented shops. On the left is the preserved 17th century townhouse Gladstone's Land owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The south side has a strong Dutch influence in its 17th-century gables. The lower end of the Lawnmarket is marked by a major intersection with George IV Bridge on the right (south) and Bank Street on the left, leading to The Mound and the New Town. The view down Bank Street is dominated by the baroque headquarters of the Bank of Scotland.
On the south-west corner of this intersection, with its entrance on George IV Bridge, is a new hotel, replacing the former Lothian Regional Council offices. This building is of controversial design winning both best building awards and "carbuncle" awards in 2009/10.
Between Bank Street and St Giles Street, where the Lawnmarket ends, in the former Sheriff Court building, is the High Court of Justiciary, Scotland's supreme criminal court.
Read more about this topic: Royal Mile