With the prestigious address of 1 Great Northern Road in Aberdeen, the Northern Hotel (or Aberdeen Northern Hotel) is a particularly fine example of Art Deco architecture, located 1¼ miles (2 km) northwest of the city centre. Built on the site of an earlier hotel which had been destroyed by a fire, this was the most fashionable hotel in NE Scotland when it opened in 1938. Retaining several original features, including a bizarrely curved ballroom that has one of the largest dance floors in the city, this privately-owned hotel has 50 bedrooms, 18 of which are now located within modern self-contained apartments. Constructed in concrete and faced with reconstituted granite and traditional grey granite, this four storey building was the work of A.G.R. Mackenzie (1879 - 1963) of the architectural practice of A. Marshall Mackenzie & Son. Its most noteworthy feature is the curving facade it presents to Powis Terrace, with metal-framed windows arranged as horizontal bands and a continuous balcony at first-floor level. First listed in 1987, it was raised to Category A status in 1990. About the same time the building was bought by the University of Aberdeen, who converted it to a student residence. In 1993 it passed back into private ownership and was restored to its original function as a hotel. It was subject to a £2.5 million refurbishment in 2008. Although the interior has been significantly altered, a few Art Deco details remain.