English: Police Box, Rutland Square Even the Edinburgh police boxes, with their pediments and pilasters, were designed to blend in with the neo-classical architecture of the 'Athens of the North'. They were the inspiration of the late-1930s City Architect, E J MacRae, and remain a distinctive feature of the city. No longer serving their original purpose, many have been converted into small coffee stalls and retail outlets. This one in a quiet backwater has escaped that fate. In the years of post-war austerity they were painted in a drab battleship grey; it was rumoured that the Council had bought surplus paint at a knock-down price from the Rosyth Naval Dockyard on the Firth of Forth! Thankfully, someone in the 1980s was inspired to brighten them up in a sky-blue colour.