The decision to build the Scott Monument was taken at a public meeting in Edinburgh less than a month after Sir Walter Scott's death in September 1832. The tall Gothic structure was not completed until the autumn of 1844 and the official inauguration took place only in August 1846. Hill and Adamson were lucky to be resident in Edinburgh and could document the building stages and the work of the masons. Here the monument is shown after its completion as an impressive feature bordering Princes Street, seen from the East End.