St Andrew Square, Edinburgh

St Andrew Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, located at the east end of George Street. The construct of St Andrew Square began in 1772, as the first part of the New Town, designed by James Craig. Within six years of its completion St Andrew Square became one of the most desirable and most fashionable residential areas in the city. As the 19th century came to a close, St Andrew Square evolved into the commercial centre of the city. Most of the square used to be made up of major offices of banks and insurance companies, making it one of the major financial centres in Scotland. At one time, St Andrew Square could claim to be the richest area of its size in the whole of Scotland. The gardens are owned by a number of private parties and belong to the collection of New Town Gardens. They were made open to the public in 2008 and are managed by Essential Edinburgh. The square has several shops, including the department store Harvey Nichols and the designer precinct Multrees Walk. It is also home to The Edinburgh Grand Hotel and apartments, as well as a series of London chain restaurants and bars on its south side, such as Hawksmoor, Drake & Morgan, Dishoom and The Ivy.