Neglected City

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Text Box: Neglected City

I hate to introduce a negative subject here, but travelling around Glasgow, I am sad to see the state of some of our older buildings.

Here is a selection of those I have noticed recently; most, if not all are on the ‘Buildings at Risk’ Register and we can only hope that another use is found for them and the finance to save them before it is too late.

The Buildings at Risk website can be found here:-

Buildings at Risk

Text Box: “Neglecting our cities we neglect the nation” John Fitzgerald Kennedy 1962

Text Box: This is the White House Pub in Maryhill, right on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal. It has been there since work on the canal started and used to have a 24-hour licence. Now closed, neglected and sprayed with graffiti, this old building deserves better. Read more about this and other aspects of Maryhill here: -

Text Box: This poor building lives only on memories of its glorious past. Once the ace engineering area of Glasgow, which built the finest locomotives in the world, parts of Springburn appear down on their luck and Springburn Public Hall reflects that sad state of affairs only too graphically. Will someone please save this lovely building soon… or is it already too late? Unfortunately this building succumbed to the bulldozers. Another piece of history gone. More about Springburn: -

Text Box: (Right) Another building next to the canal—the old Lambhill Stables. Horses used to pull the laden barges along the canal, using the towpath and a change of horses was made every now and then. They were stabled in buildings such as this. The building is now used by the community, for art , craft and reminiscence groups. Read more about Lambhill here:-

Text Box: You may recognise this picture from the first page of my website. This is the Church Street Baths, near Byres Road. They have been in this awful condition for a very long time—I’m surprised they are still standing. The other parts of the buildings in the complex are in constant use, but no-one seems to want the baths. They could be a local amenity, but they may be too far gone.

Text Box: This is the cottage in Elder Park. I assume it used to be the home of the Park-keeper, but that must have been some time ago. There were rumours that this building was to be renovated and reborn as a Tearoom for the Park. (On my visits it has always seemed to be a well-used park). However, time marches on, the ‘Dangerous Buildings’ signs go up and the vegetation gets bigger…...

Text Box: Now, this building is right in the centre of the city. It is in St. Vincent place and George Square is just around the corner. It was built in 1889 for the ‘Citizen’ newspaper, designed by T.L Watson. What is happening to it now? Well, the stone work has been damaged by water ingress (see the picture on the right) and there are the tell-tale signs of nature taking over in the greenery sprouting from various parts of the building. What must tourists think of the way we treat our heritage?

www.lambhillstables.org

Text Box: On Castlebank Street, built in 1885, designed by Bruce and Hay, for D & W Henderson. Built in red brick and sandstone; the office block of Meadowside Shipyard, which was started by David Todd (first Provost of Partick and partner in Todd & McGregor) and then became part of the Anchor Line. Rumour had it, it was to be taken down and rebuilt at another site. Redevelopment continues apace all around it—when will this building have its chance? What about a Museum of Emigration or a repository for the records of Clyde shipbuilders? Too late! The usual fire followed by demolition. Such a lost opportunity!

Text Box: This is the Victoria Baths building in West Nile Street. This building features on my homepage as well. It is now part of the extension to the Buchanan galleries. The pub next to it went on fire and was demolished. The building on the other side, is empty—the less said the better!! (<<Hint>> modern, concrete.) The Victoria Baths building façade has been retained.

Text Box: This is the Olympia Cinema in Bridgeton, at the Cross. Glasgow was once Cinema City—in fact, in the 1920s a moratorium was called for in the building of new cinemas, as better quality housing was needed but not being built. The Olympia was opened in 1911 as a variety theatre and became a cinema in 1924. In the 1970s it became a bingo hall and its last incarnation was as a furniture shop. It was overgrown with weeds, water damaged and had suffered a fire in 2004. Rescued and put to good use! More info :-

Olympia Bridgeton

Text Box: 25 Greenhead Street - The Inn on the Green Hotel and Restaurant. In the 80s this was the place. It was a beautiful boutique hotel (see the travel sites), with a great restaurant and entertainment, such as jazz singers, pianist, and plays (John Cairney did a show there). Now it is empty, save for the pigeons flying in and out. This is a B-listed building.

Text Box: The gatehouse at Janefield Cemetery, also known as the Eastern Necropolis. Situated near The Forge shopping centre.

Text Box: This is the building in which the Boys’ Brigade was begun in 1883. ( see plaque on the right). Was a nightclub, now closed and waiting for a new use.

Text Box: These two buildings are part of the Gartnavel Hospital complex. The one on the left is the chapel and the one on the right is part of the old hospital complex.

Text Box: Set in lovely grounds, the chapel has undergone renovation for use by Tak Tent as the Calman Cancer Centre. The other buildings must be reuseable for something!

Text Box: Yet another building in the City Centre. On Hope Street stands the Lion Chambers building. It is of irregular construction, being an early example (1904) of concrete framing and has very thin walls. It sits on a narrow site and was designed by James Salmon II and John Gaff Gillespie. (ref: The Buildings of Scotland, Glasgow, pub. Penguin). It was built as lawyers offices, but has lain empty for some years now; the only part still in use was the stationery shop on the ground floor (Douglas & Douglas). Now that also has closed and is vacant. The buildings nearby are also pretty run-down and it doesn’t look like much is happening. There has been boarding up and wire mesh over the exterior for some time. A building literally ‘living in Hope’. Will it die in despair?

Refurbished
and put to new use

Now luxury flats

Text Box: The photo below was taken on Open Doors day 2012 and I can say the stables are well worth a visit.

Madeleine Smith ,