The Green is as ancient as Aberdeen itself.
It formed the medieval heart of the city, a place of trade, crafts, commerce and also worship.
Before the building of Union Street, it was the first place visitors to the city arrived after crossing the Bow Brig.
Thriving market place
With the arrival of the new road and its buildings, the Green found itself hemmed in by high buildings, but was still a thriving market place. Today it sits at the centre of the burgeoning Merchant Quarter, a place to find fine food, good drink, quirky shops and is at the heart of set-piece events like the annual jazz festival.
Join us as we open our photo-archives for a look at the Green over the years.
A Friday Market in the Green in the 1930s, showing the Mannie in the Green fountain which was there from 1852 to 1958 and is now back on its original site in the Castlegate.
Another familiar sight to generations of Aberdonians was the gold coffee pot which once hung above John Adam’s coffee shop, and you can still see the bracket for the pot remaining.
As befits the main market in a fishing port, the Green was once home to dozens of fishwives, with their colourful distinctive shawls. By 1947 their numbers had dwindled. Our photo shows one of the last of the fishwives as she negotiates with a potential customer.
The spring sunshine brought out the crowds to the weekly market at the Green in April 1957. The sign advertises back bacon is reduced by 4d (approx 2p) per pound.
The traditional Friday Market is in full swing on this day in 1948 as people cross over the steel bridge which spanned the railway giving access to the Green.
This photo from 1978 shows how the ancient Green became hemmed in on all sides as new buildings sprang up around it. The market is still there, but clearly diminished in size from its heyday.
