The Western Movie Set

A little known feature lies hidden just off Springvalley Gardens in Morningside. ‘El Paso” a row of buildings including a Jail, A Cantina, Ed Newbey’s Stables, Blacksmith’s and Livery and a Trading Station all designed to look like a Western set straight out of a Hollywood movie. 

The facades were commissioned by Michael Faulkner, who had previously worked as a Cowboy and was the owner of Pine Country and later named The Great American Outdoors, a furniture store dealing in Santa Fe-Style furniture. They were painted by two engineers who had experience working on similar set designs for Disneyland Paris.

The shop ceased trading in 1999 and the facades have become weathered over time and have fallen into disrepair but it’s still an interesting piece of Edinburgh’s history.