Fair question. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To most modern Dundonians, the name is a bit of a puzzle. There\u2019s no obvious Exchange now sitting between Castle Street and Commercial Street to justify it. But, like many things in Dundee, there\u2019s a good story behind it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where it all started<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in the seventeenth century (around 1650), Dundee\u2019s merchants didn\u2019t have a grand building to meet in. Business was done in the Green Market \u2014 an area that\u2019s now absorbed into the site of the Caird Hall. The meeting place was known as \u201cThe Merchant\u2019s Walk\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By 1778, things had progressed a bit. After the opening of the Trades Hall at the east end of the High Street, merchants rented the principal apartment and established what became known as \u201cThe Dundee Exchange Coffee-room and Reading-room\u201d. It was part business hub, part social space, part intellectual corner of the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the room was often taken over for theatrical performances and lectures. Not ideal if you\u2019re trying to get a deal signed. So in 1805, the merchants decided to build something of their own. Subscriptions were raised, and two years later a new Exchange opened on the south side of what was then a fairly rough footpath running from Castle Street to the Burnhead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1809, a library was added to the Coffee-room \u2014 a significant moment in Dundee\u2019s cultural life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Growth, generosity and a street is born<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The building didn\u2019t stay modest for long. In 1828, plans were approved for an extension designed by George Smith of Edinburgh. The new principal hall measured an impressive 73 feet by 36 feet, with shops below. The official opening in 1830 was meant to be marked by a grand ball (later adjusted to a dinner and ball \u2014 arguably even better). <\/p>\n\n\n\n By 1838, the Exchange Coffee-room subscribers were doing well enough to donate surplus funds to the Royal Infirmary and the Orphan Institution. Not a bad legacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ten years earlier, in 1828, the Town Council had arranged to form a new 40-foot-wide street from the Burnhead to the foot of Castle Street. That decision gave us Exchange Street<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, in 1859, the present Royal Exchange was built on the north side of the meadows (now Albert Square), giving its name to Royal Exchange Court. Commercial Street was also laid out in part to improve access to Exchange Street. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So the name isn\u2019t random. It\u2019s rooted in trade, reading, meeting, debate \u2014 and Dundee shaping its own future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Exchange Street \u2013 on the Middle Floor<\/strong>\u00a0of the Main Library<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our Exchange Street study area is a small, deliberate nod to that history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll\u00a0find 7 study areas, open booths and group study spaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a space for meeting, thinking, discussing, planning \u2014 not wildly different in spirit from the original Exchange Coffee-room. No merchants negotiating jute contracts (hopefully), but plenty of ideas being shaped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you haven\u2019t used it yet, have a look next time you\u2019re in. It\u2019s a good spot to get your head down or work through something as a team \u2014 and now you know why it\u2019s called what it\u2019s called. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/255\/2026\/02\/image-1-1024x634.png\")
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