Long and not at all winding road...

Yesterday on my way down Buchanan Street I took a photo down St. Vincent Street / Place and said I will come back and do here another day. Well sometimes there is not time like the present so just decided to go back there today on the way to Cadogan Street.

Now I have used the word special a lot on this blog when describing places. But think that is something about Glasgow. So many places have a very special and very distinct feel about them. Being in the Merchant city feels different from Buchanan Street, Argyle Street different again, the West end different again. And so is true of St. Vincent Street. It has so many old buildings, many of which either are or were bank buildings, that sometimes if you squint you can still imagine the horses and coaches coming up and down here. It is also a very long, very straight street so even right up at Blythswood you can see all the way down beyond George Square over half a mile away. Although the street is officially St. Vincent Place from George Square to Buchanan Street and changes name to Street after that.

So where does the name come from ? Well I mentioned this in a previous post. The street is named after the famous sea battle off Cape St. Vincent in Portugal in February 1797. Admiral John Jervis defeated the Spanish Fleet although outnumbered 27 ships to 15.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_St_Vincent_(1797).


So what did I notice on my travels round St. Vincent today...

The first building you pass is a fine example of what I have said above. The is the Counting House pub on the corner of St. Vincent Place and George Square. This is a former Bank of Scotland building hence the name of the pub. It dates from 1870 and the bank crest can still be seen over the door. As you see on a lot of these buildings there are figures supporting the door frame. These are depictions of Atlas holding up the earth or heavens are are seemingly therefore called Atlantes. So now you know. :)

Just along from the Counting House is this distinctive red building.

As well as being a fine piece of architecture, as I mentioned yesterday this has the distinction of being my first real place of work. I did a summer job here as a computer operator between leaving high school and going to college. I maybe got into computers because of my ZX Spectrum but this is where it became a career for me. Actually worked in the basement of this office. From print spools, punch cards, tape reels. I was 17 and having lots of fun. But really wanted to be one of the programmers that worked upstairs. So went to college to study Computer Science. And the rest is history...
Have a good memory of somewhere you worked in Glasgow? First place you worked? Then feel free to post up a comment.

Next door is the beautifully ornate Clydesdale Bank building which dates from 1874. It was the headquarters of the Clydesdale Bank until 1902.

Here is a close up of some of the detail on the doorways. This is not actually Santa. Although with the times the banks been having lately a few gifts from Santa this Christmas be most welcome. This is seemingly the depiction of Father Clyde, representing the river that made Glasgow so prosperous.

On to St. Vincent Street proper now and the first building after Buchanan Street is the Post Office which has this most impressive crest above the doorway.

The coat of arms is the Scottish Royal Coast of Arms of the United Kingdom. The motto is that of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, nemo me impune lacessit, and translates as, "No-one provokes me with impunity".

Just next door to the post office is the Easy Office store and a Caffe Nero. I did mention all the coffee shops? :)

But this building dates from 1850 and until May 2000 was the John Smith and Sons bookstore. John Smith's is the oldest trading company in the city dating back to 1751 and the oldest bookselling company in the English speaking world. John Smith and Sons of course still exists as a company and specialises in academic and professional books.

But before Waterstones and Borders this was the big book shop in Glasgow. I spent a lot of time in here browsing. Think this is where my passion for reading (and for endless browsing in book stores :) ) was born.

If Borders in Buchanan Street is top 5 bookshop in the world then this one would have been top 3.

Now onto the junction with West Nile Street and the distinctive number 78. This has been a very good restaurant for many years but some of the fixtures and fittings give away it's orginal use. It dates from 1913 and was built for the Phoenix Assurance company. There are a number of Phoenix sculptures around the building and pictured above is the door with Phoenix crest and the date of the establishment of the company in 1782.

Across the road from 78 is the Slanj kilt shop. Now Slanj is not only a really good kilt shop it also sells a number of Glasgow and Scottish t-shirts, mugs, kids clothes and even underwear!!
Found myself wandering around today chuckling away at the t-shirts. Asked if I could take some photos to post up here. These guys are really cool people. Were really supportive when I explained what this blog was all about. I've never owned a kilt but have thought of getting one and will be going here when I do.

Sporraned for choice?

Ok bad pun. :)

But just some of the impressive selection of highland wear.

Slanj range of underwear appropriately named. :)

The "aye pod" :)

And my favourite of them all the "Che you Jimmy!!" A classic!! I need to get me one of these!! :)

There too many greats to post up here but look at http://www.slanjkilts.com/ if you want to see more.

Just down the road again and another Bank of Scotland building with the crest of the two robed women with the cornucopia spilling out money. Not so much money spilling about these days ?

Though this is now the "Drum and Monkey" pub. Don't pretend you didn't recognise it!! We know you are a regular!! :)

We now up beyond Hope Street and looking at the distinctive thin red building in the middle of the photo with the strange roof. This is the "Hatrack" building so called because the roof detail makes it look like an old fashioned hat stand. This dates from 1903 and is covered in little details. Another building that I could do a little corners post on all by itself.

Now up to number 200 St. Vincent Street beyond West Campbell Street. This is the Royal Sun Alliance building, which dates from 1923 and it has these beautiful sculptures around the door. The top middle one is of St. Andrew, the other two are a young man and woman. The detail and feeling of movement on them is really impressive.

Couldn't be a tour along St. Vincent Street without mentioning the famous King Tut's Wah Wah Hut. This venue opened in 1990 and is renowned for being the place where some of the big bands got started. Radiohead, Blur, Travis, Pulp and The Verve all played here before they became famous. And this is where Oasis got spotted and signed by Creation Records.

Here is what is coming to King Tut's in July. Any of these another Oasis? Well if they are then remember where you saw the name first!! :)

http://www.kingtuts.co.uk/

And across the road is one of the most impressive buildings in all of Glasgow.
St.Vincent Street Church was designed by Alexander "Greek" Thomson and opened in 1859 as a Presbyterian church. Thomson is regarded as Glasgow's "unknown genius" of architecture. I will cover more of his buildings another day. His designs are well-known for their use of Greek, Egyptian and Assyrian decoration. You can see this tower all the way down St. Vincent Street and it one of those buildings that as you walk around you see something new.
It currently is undergoing some major restoration work which is definitely required.

The view back down St. Vincent Street from the top of the hill. Can see all the way past George Square into Cochrane Street.

Just down from St. Vincent Street Church is another magnificent church. The St. Columbus Church. The Church of Scotland congregation of St Columba dates back to 1770. It was established to cater for the spiritual needs of the large number of Gaelic-speakers from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland settling in Glasgow in search of employment. The church still has a service in Gaelic every Sunday as well as three weekly services in English.
The church pictured here dates from 1904. Because of its size and association with Gaeldom and the Gaelic language it is also popularly known as the Highland Cathedral.

http://www.highlandcathedral.org/

A time for reflection in the world of finance ?

Here is the reflection of St. Columbus in the Abbey building across the street.

That brought me all the way back to Charing Cross and the Whyte and MacKay building but that was another post from another day.

Could only ever post up a selection of St. Vincent Street but nearly every building you pass has something worth stopping to look at. And just from a pure architecture point of view I think it has been my favourite so far.

Best bit of today ?

Browsing and chatting in Slanj. Going back soon for some of those t-shirts and maybe even a kilt!! :)

Always be well and happy out there!!

Slanj!!

A wee bit of Bucky...

It was so obvious and right in front of me that I couldn't see it...
Got off the bus and was standing in Buchanan Street thinking what wee tour to do on the way to Penna today. What to do? What to do?

And then I realised that for all my talking about it, photos of street theatre, various little pictures and corners of it, I had not actually done a tour down Buchanan Street itself.

So here we go ... the big one ...

Just started at the North end of the street. Now shown you photos of here before. It is of course the statue of Donald Dewar in front of the Royal Concert Hall and the Buchanan Galleries. The steps behind here are a lunchtime picnic spot and generally great place to sit and people watch.Buchanan Galleries I think been one of the great success stories in this area of Glasgow. And it is being expanded soon!!

Donald Dewar was of course the first person to hold the office of First Minister of Scotland when the Scottish Parliament was reestablished in May 1999. I've heard various opinions on this statue but I actually like it.

So why is it called Buchanan Street anyway ?
Now I didn't know this till I looked it up today. Got hold of a copy of "Glasgow Street Names" by Carol Foreman. What a really interesting book. Highly recommended. Anyway ... Buchanan Street was named after Andrew Buchanan, a wealthy tobacco merchant, who bought the land from Argyle Street to Gordon Street in 1766. He built a mansion on what is now the south west corner and a tenement was built opposite in 1778. However the American War of Independence (1775-1783) ruined him and he went bankrupt. But the street that later formed on this land still took his name.

The street itself now contains many great buildings and is one of the great shopping streets in the world. Below is just some of what I saw today...

This very ornate entrance way is actually in Nelson Mandela Place but the building is also onto Buchanan Street. It is actually part of the Atheneum. One page said this was the Atheneum hotel ? The glass above the door says Au Natural Interiors which it was for a while but now it has reopened as "Fun for 2". Now normally I would be a bit nervous entering a building with a sign saying "Fun for 2" on the door but this turns out to be a budget shop full of stuff for 2 pounds. But apart from if you are looking for something for 2 pounds there are other great reasons to go in here because a lot of the original architecture is still intact.

Plasterwork of the names and busts of various composers on the stairwells. Brahms, Wagner, Mendelson, Beethoven just some of the examples.

The Ballroom. Which is the main shop floor on the first floor. No disrepect to most budget stores like Poundstretchers but they are going to have to go a bit to compete with this for architecture!! :)

Ok, It's a picture of the St George Tron Church again. But if I ever get tired of taking photos of this amazing building then shoot me :) This was taken from West George Street looking back across Buchanan Street. Wanted to get the people in the foreground to show the scale. The steeple is 162 feet high.

Down now to where Buchanan Street crosses St. Vincent Street/Place. Now will do a proper tour of St. Vincent Street another day as it as probably more beautiful architecture than any other street in Glasgow. This row on St. Vincent Place looking down towards George Square just being a small example. Main historical significance of this row? The red building in the middle is where I got my first proper job between school and going to university. I was a computer operator. They still had punched cards and tape reels. Now I'm showing my age!! :)

The mighty Borders book store. This building dates from 1827 and was built for the Royal Bank. It was voted by the Guardian as number 5 in the top bookstores in the world. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/jan/11/bestukbookshops

Have to agree that the other 4 also look pretty special but this is a great shop.

And tucked around the corner of Borders is the Rogano seafood restaurant. Opened in 1935 and fitted out in Art Deco style this has become a legendary Glasgow restaurant.

And out in Buchanan Street the Rogano champagne garden. Now I mentioned this way back in one of my first posts. It was pretty empty then except for the poor waiter. Well today it was pretty busy and the champagne looked amazing.

Now I just need to buy that lottery ticket and next week my entire blog will be from here. Each day a review of a different champagne. Hey, I can dream ... :)

The magnificent building at the corner of Buchanan and Gordon Street. Part of the Royal Bank of Scotland building. And home to TGI Fridays.

A large crowd of people now outside this building appreciating it's beauty since Glasgow the Day pointed it out ?

No this is the crowd watching Adrian the Escapologist outside Borders. I told you he was good!! Always pulls in a great crowd. If you in Buchanan Street and see him then do stop and watch.

Just down from there and we have the other Willow Tea Rooms. Covered some of the history of this on my Sauchiehall Street tour.

http://www.willowtearooms.co.uk/

This time managed to get a wee photo of the Chinese Tea Room on the 2nd floor. They really are beautiful inside. Can really appreciate the genius of Mackintosh's designs.

Now I love the look of this building. The windows, contrast of red and cream sandstone, the beautiful detail on the roof. Must be a famous building ? I can't find anywhere in the books I have or the internet that says what this is. Help ??

The lanes off Buchanan Street used to be dirty and unwelcoming. Now they host trendy shops and restaurants. This one has The Chippy Doon The Lane, trendy version of the Scottish national dish. Chips.:)

Also on this building is that old writing that I love. This one says John McCormick and Co. Bookbinders.

And now onto a real jewel in Buchanan Street. Princes Square.
I've posted photo of the peacock on the roof as part of a quiz before but thought it worth another shot today.

Prince Square is actually also the site of the oldest house in Buchanan Street built in 1778. Seemingly this was also the venue for the Peel Banquet in 1837 which was to honour Sir Robert Peel who had been made Lord Rector of Glasgow University. This building was demolished in 1842 to make way for the Prince of Wales Building and Square. The court was roofed over in 1988 and the trendy restaurant and shopping centre was born.
Really is a unique feel to the place. Great place to grab a coffee and people watch.

This is Foucalt Pendulum in Princes Square. It is named after Jean Foucalt, who showed that the Earth rotated on it's axis.

And this is round the back of Princes Square. A statue of a naked man with a bird at his feet outside the stairs that now lead down to the Dwell store.
I hadn't realised this statue was there until today and I like it's quirky style. Though I will let you make up your own rude jokes about it :)

Across the road now to another Glasgow institution.
Frasers has been trading in this area since 1849 when James Arthur and Hugh Fraser formed the partnership of Arthur and Fraser and rented premises on the corner of Argyle and Buchanan.

As well as being a beautiful building on the outside, it is really a special place in the inside as well. Doubt anyone would design a shop to look like this anymore but with the glass ceiling and the chandeliers this is really worth standing and appreciating for a while.

And finally for today. I have already posted up a couple of photos of the wonderful grotto that is the Argyll Arcade. But these are photos of the lovely signs on at the Buchanan Street end.

So that was a very quick and very incomplete walk down Bucky.

Will need to do another one to fill in some gaps.

Did I miss out your favourite building? Tell me if I did.

I liked that I got some photos inside the buildings today. Going where Google Street View can only dream of!!! :)

Please excuse any ommisions and typos tonight as had to wait for Andy Murray to finish off his match and get into the quarter finals before could start typing this up :)

Bit tired now and hoarse from cheering on Andy. :)

But I never tire of strolling down Buchanan Street. Really has such a buzz about it.
Hope you enjoyed strolling down here with me today.

Be well, be happy!!

Sleepless in Shawlands...

Glasgow has certainly picked up the coffee culture over the last few years. The number of Costa coffee, Caffe Nero, Esquires and Starbucks is amazing. Though nice to see that Mrs Cranston's Willow Tea Rooms still have a place in the city.

Anyway, this coffee craze may have started in Seattle but with this much caffeine flowing around think people will be Sleepless in Shawlands as well!! :)

Noticed just on my routes from bus station to Cadogan Street how many Starbucks I passed. And they actually have got themselves some really nice buildings.

So this week's quiz (and should be lot easier than last week) is to tell me where all these Starbucks are. There is also a slight twist. :)

This one not opened yet so will still have to go a couple of yards down the road to find the next one. :)

There you go. Easy peasy.

If you want to join in then send answers to glasgowtheday@gmail.com

First person with all correct or person with most correct wins.

Starbucks should really do a Glasgow challenge. Get a stamp from all of their Glasgow branches and win a Glasgachino t-shirt!! :)

Will post answers up later in week. Maybe also include what I can find out about these buildings as well.

Be well, be happy!!