It was one of the first streets in Dundee designed specifically for shopping.
Home to some of the great department stores and the finest tailors — then latterly banks and building societies — Reform Street was always intended to be, and always was, one of the city’s major commercial thoroughfares.
Opening in 1832, the street was named after the Great Reform Act, which gave the royal burgh of Dundee a representative at the UK Parliament for the very first time.
It may not quite live up to such a prestigious name nowadays, but as part of our week-long campaign, Let’s Reform Reform Street, we can reveal its colourful — and often vibrant — past.
From the very beginning, Reform Street aimed to serve the people of Dundee’s leisurely pursuits, according to city archivist Iain Flett.
“It was one of the first planned streets and one of the first streets in Dundee specifically designed as a shopping district,” he said.
“The street came from radical beginnings after being named after the Reform Act of 1832, and it would be very fitting if the future of Reform Street is to continue through the radical plans to restore it.”
However despite the best of intentions of town planners and councillors, prosperity has always fluctuated between bustling highs and deserted lows during the street’s 184 years.
According to Jack Searle, who is currently writing a book on Dundee’s shopping history, Reform Street has always been known as a “weather clock” street. He said: “The history of the street has seen it go from one end to the other. With the forever-changing reputation, it soon became known as a ‘weather clock street’.
“And I think it is accurate to say that Reform Street has gone through different kinds of stages all the way since it was built. There have been times where it has been a very prosperous place.
“At one time it was full of tailors and furriers — it was seen as a bit of a posh street for the wealthy.
“Cairds was probably the most famous department store but there were others as well.
“There was also a Dundee Pasteurised Milk (DPM) cafe as well, which was pretty big in its day.”
As the street’s retail age wound down, a second one came with the banks and building societies.
The likes of A Caird & Son closed its doors in the late 1970s and the bankers took over. Mr Searle added: “By the 1990s, the street was absolutely dominated by banks and building societies — the street was lined with them.”
That second age of Reform Street proved to be short-lived compared to the shopping one that spanned most of the 20th Century, as the rise of ATMs and online banking led to fewer people actively going out and dealing with their finances in the old-fashioned way.
“With less people using these places, the branches in Reform Street started to close down, the street soon become quiet again,” said Mr Searle.
“It has always been a strange street when it comes to prosperity, because in the past, people could not make their minds up on whether it would be a roaring success or not.”
