Provost John Ross

Shiprow is a historic street in the heart of Aberdeen, Scotland, near the harbour. Formerly the Shiprow sloped upward more gradually than it does now, and it crossed Union Street in a depression between St Catherine's Hill on the west and Castle Street, once high uneven ground, on the east. That the Shiprow has been made up several feet can be seen by a house at the end of Exchequer Row, and it crossed Union Street and entered Broad Street at a lower level than the present. The Shiprow was one of the most important streets in the city, since it led from the harbour into the Castlegate area - the heart of Aberdeen. It is first mentioned in documents in 1281. Over the years it became more and more rundown and, although it had many historic connections, nearly all of it was demolished in the 1950s and 60s. Exchequer Row known locally as Cheq'ra Wynd (first mentioned in 1350) was a short congested lane connecting the Shiprow to the Castlegate, and on its right side, were a number of courts leading into an area crammed with insanitary dwellings which were later demolished. It was popularly supposed that the name Exchequer Row derived from the Aberdeen Mint which stood in the area. However, it comes from the name of the Royal Customs House - the Skakkarium, dating back to the 14th century. Provost Ross's house, dating from 1593 and the second oldest house in the city, is located here. Since 1981, it has housed part of the Aberdeen Maritime Museum. Shiprow has changed dramatically in the last few years and now houses, alongside the Maritime Museum, the City Wharf office development, PureGym, Hotel Ibis, Lane7 Bowling Alley and Vue Cinema.

Aberdeen Maritime Museum is a maritime museum in Aberdeen, Scotland. The museum is situated on the historic Shiprow in the heart of the city, near the harbour. It makes use of a range of buildings including the former Trinity Congregational Church, which was converted to be used as an extension of the museum, and Provost Ross' House, one of the oldest domestic buildings in the city.The museum tells the story of the city's long relationship with the North Sea. Its collections cover shipbuilding, fast sailing ships, fishing and port history, and displays on the North Sea oil industry.

The 2009 Le Gruyère European Curling Championships were held in Aberdeen, Scotland from 4 to 12 December 2009. The A-Group tournament took place at the Linx Ice Arena, and the B-Group are playing at Curl Aberdeen. A total of 51 teams from 30 European countries were competing.

The Tolbooth in Aberdeen, Scotland is a 17th-century former jail which is now operated as a museum. The museum contains prison cells and exhibits various police and law and order related items. The building has been featured on popular television as the setting for a ghostlore story.

The Aberdeen Sheriff Court Annex and High Court of Justiciary, also known as Mercatgate, is a judicial building in Castle Street, Aberdeen, Scotland. The building, which operates in conjunction with similar facilities in Edinburgh and Glasgow, is provided for the use of the High Court of Justiciary, which is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. It is a Category A listed building.

Aberdeen Town House is a municipal facility in Castle Street, Aberdeen, Scotland. The town house, which is the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council, is a Category A listed building.

New Aberdeen is a neighbourhood in Aberdeen, Scotland. A Royal Burgh of was established by the reign of David I in the middle of the twelfth century with Alexander II establishing a Guild of Merchants in New Aberdeen in 1222. It was a fishing and trading settlement where the river Denburn entered the Dee estuary. The burgh of New Aberdeen was merged with Old Aberdeen in 1891 to form the county of the city of Aberdeen.The area has some of the oldest streets in Aberdeen dating from the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries in New Aberdeen's historic marketplace the Castlegate where Aberdeen's Mercat cross is situated. Marischal College was founded in 1593 on the site of a disused medieval Franciscan friary by George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal of Scotland as a more Protestant alternative to Old Aberdeen's King's College. It was Scotland's second post-medieval "civic university", after the University of Edinburgh, created without a Papal bull and with a greater resemblance to the Protestant arts colleges of continental Europe to train post-Reformation Kirk clergy. and became known as Aberdeen's "Town College".

Castlegate is a small area of Aberdeen, Scotland, located centrally at the east end of the city's main thoroughfare Union Street. Generally speaking, locals consider it to encompass the square at the end of Union Street where the Mercat Cross and Gallowgate are located. At the upper end of Castlegate stands The Salvation Army Citadel, an effective castellated mansion, on the site of the medieval Aberdeen Castle. Castlegate was named after the site of the castle gates until their destruction in 1308. Aberdeen's Mercat Cross was built in 1686 by John Montgomery, a native architect. This open-arched structure, 21 ft (6 m) in diameter and 18 ft (5 m) high, is a large hexagonal base from the centre of which rises a shaft with a Corinthian capital, on which is the royal unicorn. The base is highly decorated, including medallions illustrating Scottish monarchs from James I to James VII. According to local legend, the ghost of a unicorn can be seen to circle the Castlegate when a full moon is visible. Originally erected opposite the Mercat Cross, a statue of George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon, erected in 1844, was relocated to Golden Square in the 1950s.To the east of Castle Street were the Castlehill Barracks, which were demolished in 1965 and replaced with two tower blocks. The Gallowgate, just off the main square, is named after the former site of the gallows. A small area of the old granite road pavings remains in the bus lane, next to the courts, just the spot where public hangings were conducted. To the west, just off the main square, is the Castlegate Well, which is no longer used. A small bronze statue was erected over the top by William Lindsay, a goldsmith then in charge of the city's water. The Castlegate was used as a terminus for the Aberdeen Corporation Tramways system and later for buses.

Greyfriars Church is a Category A Listed building in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was designed by the architect Alexander Marshall Mackenzie and built in 1903. It is situated on Broad Street and forms the south-east corner of Marischal College, also designed by Mackenzie.

Aberdeen Guild Street railway station was the former terminus of the Aberdeen Railway. This station opened to passengers on 2 August 1854 as the new terminus of the Aberdeen Railway, replacing the former temporary terminus at Ferryhill. It also served as the terminus of the Deeside Railway, which had an agreement to use the station and the portion of track between it and Ferryhill junction. At the time, the southern terminus of the Great North of Scotland Railway was at Kittybrewster and the two termini were connected by a tramway through the harbour. The Great North of Scotland Railway was extended in 1856 bringing the new terminus, Aberdeen Waterloo closer to the city centre, but still not connected to the Guild Street station. On 4 November 1867 the Denburn Valley Line and the new Joint station was opened. This connected the Great North of Scotland Railway and the Aberdeen Railway, which had since become the Scottish North Eastern Railway, which was in turn absorbed by the Caledonian Railway. Guild Street station subsequently became a goods yard. A large goods shed was built in 1900 which remained standing after the goods lines within it closed, subsequently being used for car parking. It was demolished in 2002. The site of the former goods shed is now occupied by Aberdeen bus station. The remaining freight activity ceased in 2007 and was transferred to Raith's Farm (on the Aberdeen–Inverness line) and Craiginches depots. The site was used for Union Square, which opened in 2009.

Aberdeen's Mercat Cross was built in 1686 by John Montgomery, an Aberdeen architect. It is in the Castlegate area in the old burgh of New Aberdeen. This open-arched structure, 21 ft (6 m) in diameter and 18 ft (5 m) high, is a large hexagonal base from the centre of which rises a shaft with a Corinthian capital, on which is the royal unicorn. The base is highly decorated, including medallions illustrating Scottish monarchs from James I to James VII and is supported by a series of open semi-circular arcades. According to local legend, the ghost of a unicorn can be seen to circle the Castlegate when a full moon is visible. During the Jacobite rising of 1715 James Stuart, the Old Pretender, was declared king at the cross.

Aberdeen Arts Centre is a theatre and arts centre on King Street in Aberdeen, Scotland with a 350-seater auditorium. It is a Category A listed building.The building was originally the North Parish Church. The church was converted to an Arts Centre in 1963. By December of that year the Attic Theatre Company were presenting McWhittington, a pantomime over Christmas and New Year. As a successor to previous groups such as Aberdeen Children's Theatre established by Catherine Hollingworth, and ACT Aberdeen, Castlegate Arts Limited which operates Aberdeen Arts Centre has charitable status. The centre is a community-focused arts venue, which aims to provide facilities and opportunities for individuals of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to engage in the performing arts.The theatre is on two levels, with an upper and a lower gallery for audiences. There is a small orchestra pit and behind the stage there are dressing and rehearsal rooms for the shows and other projects such as local drama groups. In addition the theatre has a large participatory arts programme. The centre is home to Castlegate Theatre Company (formally established by Annie Inglis), an award-winning youth group for teenagers which focuses on devised theatre. It hosts classes for writers and illustrators, Drama classes, led by Sheena Blackhall, Julie Hutton and Barry Donaldson. It hosts touring drama and musical productions and the annual Granite Noir crime writing festival. In addition Aberdeen Arts Centre puts on a summer festival known in Aberdeen as 'The Arts Carnival'. The building also houses an exhibition area which hosts local and visiting art shows. Since 2007 it has hosted an artist in residence programme at the arts centre. The first artist was Will Teather.