George Square

The iron statues standing in George Square possess a peculiar history of misidentification. When the city commissioned a monument to Sir Walter Scott in eighteen thirty-seven, they topped the tall fluted column with his likeness. However, because Scott is wrapped in a heavy plaid cloak that obscures his features, many locals insisted for decades that the figure was actually a representation of the poet Robert Burns. The debate persisted until enough historical records surfaced to confirm the identity of the robed man on high.