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Grab your shopping list for a visit to Dundee shops and stores of days gone by

These images from the DC Thomson archives offer a glimpse of some of Dundee's shops and stores from down the years.
Graeme Strachan
Wallace's bakery in 1978, which was part of the culture of the city. Image: DC Thomson.
Wallace's bakery in 1978, which was part of the culture of the city. Image: DC Thomson.

These images from the DC Thomson archives offer a glimpse of some of Dundee’s shops and stores from down the years.

Some, sadly, are no longer around.

The DC Thomson archives team has dug out a nostalgia-filled selection of snaps which are sure to spark a memory or two.

Grab yourself a cuppa and enjoy having another browse back through the ages courtesy of The Dundonian, which appears in the Evening Telegraph every Wednesday.

Some of these photographs have not been seen for years.

Do these awaken any memories for you?


1961

Looking down Caird Avenue in 1961. Image: DC Thomson.
Looking down Caird Avenue in 1961. Image: DC Thomson.

There are a host of shops on either side of the street in this July 1961 image of Caird Avenue.

The Co-op on the right of the picture is still there and football fans returning from Dens or Tannadice will well remember the Cabrelli fish and chip shop on the left.

1966

The exterior of Robertson's in 1966. Image: DC Thomson.
Robertson’s in 1966. Image: DC Thomson.

Robertson’s furniture store in Barrack Street exuded style throughout the decades and catered for the character of every home, whether it was modern or traditional.

Almost a century of retail history went up in smoke in November 2022 when the former art deco premises were engulfed by a fire and subsequently demolished.

1967

The row of shops including a newsagent and fish and chip shop. Image: DC Thomson.
The row of shops including a newsagent and fish and chip shop. Image: DC Thomson.

The names might have changed over the years but the row of shops on Fintry Drive look the same today as they did back in 1967.

These days you’d struggle to get a parking space outside the shops but clearly that wasn’t the case some 56 years ago when this shot was taken.

1968

Two boys outside Sandy's Store. Image: DC Thomson.
Sandy’s Store. Image: DC Thomson.

Welcome to Sandy’s Store in Camperdown Road in 1968.

Newspapers and cigarettes were being advertised for sale alongside an eclectic mix of Tri-ang model railways and die-cast cars, Scalextric sets and Pedigree dolls.

1976

Inside McGill Brothers, Hilltown shop, Dundee. Image: DC Thomson.
McGill Brothers, Hilltown shop, Dundee. Image: DC Thomson.

McGill Brothers electrical and toys department in January 1976.

The Dundee department store employed over 200 people at its height, before Wilson Distributors took over the business in 1987 after it went into receivership.

1977

The Auld Dundee Pie Shop at Castle Street in 1977. Image: DC Thomson.
The Auld Dundee Pie Shop at Castle Street in 1977. Image: DC Thomson.

The Auld Dundee Pie Shop in Castle Street was a household name from the turn of the 20th Century and sold millions of pies and bridies.

At its height, it used to sell 10,000 bridies every Saturday and Dundonians mourned when the curtains were finally drawn on a little bit of Dundee history in 1977.

1977

An exterior view of the Birrell's store. Image: DC Thomson.
An exterior view of the Birrell’s store. Image: DC Thomson.

Andrew Birrell left his native Dunfermline in 1867 and hot-footed it to Dundee to open a shoe shop in the Overgate that grew into the largest of its kind in Scotland.

The ladies’ self-service shop and children’s department was on the lower level with the men’s department and the ladies’ high-fashion boutique on the floor above that.

1978

Arthur Downie is pictured in his shop, Strathvision, on Strathmore Avenue.
Strathvision in 1978. Image: DC Thomson.

I am sure many of the gadgets in this image bring back great memories for a lot of our readers – maybe even this gentleman too.

Arthur Downie is pictured in his shop, Strathvision, on Strathmore Avenue, where he sold hi-fi’s, cameras, televisions and much more.

1979

Ten-year-old Gail McAulay with the antique coach horn. Image: DC Thomson.
Ten-year-old Gail McAulay with the antique coach horn. Image: DC Thomson.

Does anyone remember this stall at the Dundee Market Hall?

Ten-year-old Gail McAulay is surrounded by different types of antiques including a coach horn for an advertising feature in the Evening Telegraph for Thingamy’s.

1987

Pedestrians standing on the pavement outside Gilbert Grossett butcher shop in Perth Road in December 1987
Pedestrians standing on the pavement outside. Image: DC Thomson.

The Gilbert Grossett butcher shop in Perth Road in December 1987.

The award-winning business was established in 1932 by Gilbert’s grandfather, David, and is still going strong in 2023 at its current shop in the city’s Arbroath Road.

1989

A customer visits The Sweetie Shop in 1989. Image: DC Thomson.
The Sweetie Shop in 1989. Image: DC Thomson.

Do you remember the Sweetie Shop in the Forum Centre?

This picture was taken in November 1989 before its name change from the Keiller Centre to signal a new era and mark the 10th birthday of the shopping mall.

1991

Wellgate Beaujangles shop display in 1991. Image: DC Thomson.
Wellgate Beaujangles shop display in 1991. Image: DC Thomson.

Mr Beaujangles was the brainchild of Dundee businessman Ian Dand and targeted the 16 to 25 age group with Radio 1 DJ Stuart Henry performing the opening ceremony.

Mr Beaujangles was wound up and closed its doors in April 1982 in the middle of a television sales drive featuring Dundee United and Scotland footballer Paul Sturrock.

The character with the Stetson who clothed a generation of teenagers bowed out, although the Mr Beaujangles name and logo lived on at the Overgate until the 1990s.

Did our pictorial trip back in time jog any memories for you?

Let us know.