Scotland retro: 27 of the best photos taking you back to the 50s, including lost department stores

These nostalgic black-and-white photos show Scotland as few will remember it.

They capture scenes around the country during the 1950s, when the streets looked very different.

It’s not just the buildings that have changed dramatically over the last seven decades, but the way we live.

These pictures take us back to a time when working conditions were radically different and, before screens dominated our lives, children got their kicks playing marbles, skipping and racing go-karts.

This retro photo gallery captures some of the biggest stars of the 50s, like George Formby, Laurel and Hardy, and Gracie Fields.

But the lens is focused mainly on ordinary people, from children playing on the streets to workers toiling away on the factory floor.

These photos are sure to bring back memories if you grew up in the 50s.

But for anyone younger, there are still likely to be things you recognise that have disappeared over the years.

Among them are two of Scotland’s most famous lost institutions - Jenners department store, in Edinburgh, which closed in 2021, and Lewis’s, in Glasgow, which shut for good in 1991.

Do these photos bring back any memories for you?

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