In the 1820s the town council decided that better access to the towns harbour was needed from the east so a better lay out of the streets was devised. The largest of these new streets to be laid out was Bank Street, named so because it was the location of the Ayr Bank.
On the right of the image is a petrol station owned by Ms. Isabella Semple. It was quite unusual as cars simply parked at the pavement side and a large boom arm would lever out over the wall to deliver the petrol to customers.
The Caledonian Arms public house, situated at the corner of High Street and Bank Street was later replaced by the Irvine and Fullerton Co-operative society. The turreted building included function halls to be used for public meetings and dances, the halls were named the Caledonian Halls to commemorate the buildings previous occupants, The ground floor is now home to a branch of the supermarket Iceland.