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A sleeping fishing village until the coming of steamships and the railway, Oban developed rapidly in the late 19th Century. Although much has been lost in recent years, and some historic buildings remain under threat, Oban can still boast a significant number of Category A, B and C listed buildings.
This Shared Description is intended to cover current, future and demolished listed structures.
A general history of the town can be found at the Oban Information web site: Link
A list of Oban’s listed buildings can be found at British Listed Buildings under “Listed Buildings in Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland” at: Link
An explanation of listed building categories in Scotland may be found: Link

Listed buildings and structures are officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. There are over half a million listed structures in the United Kingdom, covered by around 375,000 listings.
Listed status is more commonly associated with buildings or groups of buildings, however it can cover many other structures, including bridges, headstones, steps, ponds, monuments, walls, phone boxes, wrecks, parks, and heritage sites, and in more recent times a road crossing (Abbey Road) and graffiti art (Banksy 'Spy-booth') have been included.

In England and Wales there are three main listing designations;
Grade I (2.5%) - exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important.
Grade II* (5.5%) - particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
Grade II (92%) - nationally important and of special interest.

There are also locally listed structures (at the discretion of local authorities) using A, B and C designations.

In Scotland three classifications are also used but the criteria are different. There are around 47,500 Listed buildings.
Category A (8%)- generally equivalent to Grade I and II* in England and Wales
Category B (51%)- this appears generally to cover the ground of Grade II, recognising national importance.
Category C (41%)- buildings of local importance, probably with some overlap with English Grade II.

In Northern Ireland the criteria are similar to Scotland, but the classifications are:
Grade A (2.3%)
Grade B+ (4.7%)
Grade B (93%)

Read more at Wikipedia Link