Wild West Morningside

An American-style ghost town hides along a side street in Scotland’s capital city. It’s the type of place where you’d expect to hear cowboys’ spurs clanging against the pavement, or eavesdrop on conversations saturated with a slow, southern twang.

What was once an advertising gimmick for a South Western Furniture Company in the mid-‘90s is now a dilapidated and worn-out facade, something reminiscent of a Main Street of a southwestern American cowboy town. Saunter along the street—which is complete with a jail, cantina, and general store—and you’ll feel as though you’ve stepped onto the set of a Wild West film.

The street’s facade was designed by Michael Faulkner, with help from the Euro Disney engineers who created the lettering. It was meant to cover the exterior of the old cinema where the furniture company was based in.

The company that created this transplanted sliver of America’s Wild West has since gone out of business, giving the street an even more ghost town-like atmosphere as the facade has fallen into disrepair. Today, western decor conceals artist studios, galleries, and apartment storefronts. The Cantina’s door functions as the Morningside Library’s fire exit.

In the Spring of 2023, a discovery was made pertaining to a series of stone carvings outside a mechanical repair shop. In the far left-hand corner of the courtyard, experts determined that these sculptures once belonged to the ancient church located off of the Royal Mile. Still remains a mystery as to how this stonework, which was once a part of the Trinity Apse made its way to this locale several miles away.