A Cowboy Frontier Town Hidden in Edinburgh's Most Respectable Suburb
Morningside is celebrated as Edinburgh's archetypal respectable suburb—famed for leafy streets, Victorian villas, and polite tearooms. This reputation makes the discovery of an authentic 19th-century Wild West frontier town hidden down a quiet residential lane all the more surreal.
Walking into Springvalley Gardens from the bustling shopping street, the Scottish sandstone suddenly gives way to weathered timber porches, a swinging-door Saloon, a Trading Post, a Mexican Cantina, and an iron-barred Jailhouse. The architecture was constructed with genuine theatrical craftsmanship, complete with hitching posts and saloon lettering.
Built in the 1990s to market American frontier furniture, the set was never dismantled when the company ceased trading. Today, it stands as a delightfully bizarre urban curiosity, providing a sudden slice of Dodge City in the heart of Scotland’s capital.
"Look closely at the jailhouse door and the cantina facade; several of the frontier storefronts serve as fire exits and garage doors for the rear of the local Morningside library."
Built in the mid-1990s as a marketing set by a company selling 'Southwestern' style pine furniture. While the business closed decades ago, the timber town remains intact.
