The Playfair is named after William Henry Playfair, responsible for some of New Town’s finest architecture, including the National Monument on Calton Hill, overlooking the pub. Calton Hill also overlooks the New Town area of Edinburgh, conceived in the mid 18th century by the Lord Provost, George Drummond. New Town contains some of Edinburgh’s finest architecture. It was William Henry Playfair, more than any other architect, who earned Edinburgh its label as ‘the Athens of the north’. His classical-style buildings include the National Monument, Royal Scottish Academy and National Gallery of Scotland.