What is recorded here

Outlook Tower on Castlehill has watched Edinburgh through brass and glass since the nineteenth century. A camera obscura project, an observatory, a tenement, and a visitor centre all shared the same address, which means the building kept changing its purpose instead of disappearing. People climbed the tower to see the city inverted on a screen or to stand beside instruments that measured the sky. The address still exists, but the tower belongs to memory as much as to the street.

Scotland's National Record of the Historic Environment records Edinburgh, 549 Castlehill, Outlook Tower as Camera Obscura (19th Century), Observatory (19th Century), Tenement (17th Century), Visitor Centre (20th Century). The official map says its point is accurate as follows: NGR given to the nearest 1m. The record does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.