There was a factory at the northern end of the site (Messers Wm Young + Co) in the location of the future gasworks. The Denburn (unculverted) flowed along the western boundary and then into the Dee at the southern end of what is now Union Square.
The first OS map from 1869 shows that the railway is in place, with the Goods Station at the NE corner of the site and the current railway station at the NW corner of the site, with numerous lines and sidings in place. Gas Street and Gas Lane are present at the northern end of the site between the two stations. This is the location of the former gasworks. However, by the time of this first OS map the gasworks was no longer operational. A small dye works is present at the northern end of the site and a slate yard and wood yard are present along Market Street. The SE end of the site (now Palmerston Road and the EWS Goods Yard) is occupied by the River Dee.
By 1902 Gas Street and Gas Lane, as well as the Dye Works had disappeared from the northern end of the site, and this entire area was covered in railway sidings. By this time, the River Dee had been diverted and the land at the southern end of the site reclaimed. Palmerston Road had been built and a number of buildings were present here, including warehouses and two mills (Royal Mills and Caledonian Mills). Further sidings were present immediately north of Palmerston Road. The current Aberdeen railway station was completed in 1916.
By 1926 the Goods Station had been enlarged (to its final extent, prior to recent demolition) and further sidings had been built in the EWS yard area (southern half of site).
No major changes to the site took place prior to the recent development, other than construction of the bus station (by 1979) and the construction of St. Magnus House (just beyond the NE corner of the site, between Guild Street and Market Street) in the 1980s.