Kilmarnock Cross
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The Cross
In Rambles Around Kilmarnock (1875) Archibald R Adamson wrote "Kilmarnock Cross is most spacious, although of a most peculiar form, having no less than seven streets branching off it. In the centre stands a marble statue of Sir James Shaw, who rose from a humble position to that of Lord Mayor of London". [1]
The Cross looks completely different now. The heavy traffic in the town lead to the redevelopments which seen all traffic through this area of the town being stopped completely. A complete redevelopment of the town in the 1970's saw some of the streets demolished, this included Duke Street and Regent Street. The statue of Jimmy Shaw was at the Cross from 1848 - 1929, when it was removed and placed at London Road. There were shops, the Burns Shopping Mall, Bus Station and Multi-storey Car Park built during the development. Some of these shops are built over the top of the Kilmarnock Water. In the town today there are statues placed to signify where the water runs under the streets. There is another statue been placed at the Cross now that it is free of traffic. The statue is of Robert Burns and John Wilson.King Street opened in 1804. King Street runs from the Cross over the Kilmarnock Water and on to the junction with Titchfield Street. Many of the fine buildings which were in King Street were destroyed during the redevelopments in the 70's. These fine buildings were replaced by the characterless flat roofed shops which stand in their place today. Another two casualties of the redevelopments were the Town House and the King Street Church. These were also demolished at this time.
Portland Street
Portland Street opened about 1805, not long after the opening of King Street. In 1924 a bus service started operating in Kilmarnock, the tram service which had served the townclosed in 1926, as it was no longer needed. In 1924 the bus station was established in Portland Street, this continued to serve the town until it was demolished in the 70's. There was a new bus station built during the redevelopment and this is where it remains. Portland Street had been completely demolished and rebuilt with new modern buildings which have become shops, a bingo hall and a super pub.
