Royal Arch, Dundee - Ref: WC1289
This photograph shows The Royal Arch, a monument erected in 1848 to celebrate a visit by the Queen four years previously, the first by a monarch since the 17th century. Designed by Rochhead of Glasgow, it cost £2270.
Described as a 'splendid triumphal arch, 80 feet across' and 'in the Norman style', the structure was demolished in early 1964 to make way for the approach roads to the Tay Road Bridge. It finally fell on 16th March - when it was dynamited.
The remains were dumped into the Earl Grey and King William IV docks as part of the land reclamation scheme associated with the building of the Tay Road Bridge.
Queen Victoria was a fairly regular visitor to the city, it being on her route to Balmoral.
Alexander Wilson who took this photograph, was a supervisor in a Dundee jute mill for over 20 years. He bequeathed much of his collection and £50, to cover the costs involved, to the Free Library Committee of Dundee in 1923.