Thousands have flocked to see the new Dome Experience at Discovery Point with staff revealing the story of the city’s history has left many emotional.
More than 3000 visitors have visited the attraction, which takes guests on a virtual journey through Dundee’s industrial past, since it opened in October.
The figure is higher than expected and the feedback has also surprised bosses at the Dundee Heritage Trust-owned waterfront site.
Forgotten city features such as the long-since-demolished Royal Arch and the once-popular Fifies (Dundee to Fife boat trips) are showcased in CGI as visitors are transported from 1901 to the present day.
Dundee of old brings back memories
And that’s left some older Dundonians both nostalgic and reflective on how the city has changed over the years.
Deirdre Robertson, CEO of Dundee Heritage Trust, said: “The reaction so far has been great. We were surprised and delighted at how much of an inter-generational appeal it has had.
“It’s so lovely to see grandparents telling their grandchildren stories about things that were still around in their lifetime – like the Fifies, the trams and the Royal Arch.
“We expected it to be a fun and entertaining experience and for visitors to both really enjoy seeing the view and to be wowed by the drama of how much the cityscape has changed in those 121 years.
“Tourists everywhere enjoy seeing the city from a different perspective after all and we have such a stunning view over the river, ship and to the V&A.
“We just hadn’t expected so many people to report that they found it really emotional and moving and a few people have commented that it left them with a real sense of what we as a city had lost.”
Conservation work on RRS Discovery next
The towering Royal Arch was controversially demolished in 1964 with the ornately carved stonework crushed and used as infill for the Tay Road Bridge approach roads.
Meanwhile the Fifies — officially named The Tay Ferries — ended in 1966 on the same day as the bridge opened and the last tram route stopped in 1956.
The charity-run attraction’s focal point is the RRS Discovery — famous for its visit to Antarctica in 1901.
It also runs jute museum Verdant Works and looks after two collections of recognised national significance relating to the ship’s polar exploration and Dundee’s textile industry.
Conserving and maintaining them costs £2 million every year and the next phase of upgrades will see additional urgent conservation work carried out on the ship.
Funding needs to be sourced for this however and Ms Robertson is eager to get work underway after New Year.
She said: “Our next absolute top priority is the conservation work to the ship as she is in need of some very urgent and expensive repair work.
“Until we get the tenders back in for that and get a sense of what that’s likely to cost everything else is a secondary.
“We are a small, independent ,self-funded charity charged with the expensive conservation responsibilities for looking after not one but two collections of recognised national significance.
“That’s on top of the world heritage asset that is RRS Discovery, so we really do need an all hands on deck approach if we are to keep her safe for the next 100 years.”
Conversation