A lighthouse in the rain...

Glasgow seemed bit subdued when got there "The Day". Maybe it was because the clouds had rolled back in this morning. People had gotten used to so much sunshine over the last 2 weeks ?
Had some stuff to get on with today so didn't have time to wander too far from base camp so went to Buchanan Street for some inspiration.

But it started to rain in Raintown. So thought I would go visit somewhere I have meant to visit for many years. The Lighthouse building in Mitchell Lane.

Wee history lesson first...
This building was built in 1895 to house the Glasgow Herald Newspaper by the architectural firm Honeyman & Keppie, of which Charles Rennie Mackintosh was an apprentice. The Glasgow Herald moved from her in 1980 and the building fell into disrepair. It was restored as part of Glasgow being the UK City of Architecture and Design in 1999. And it is now Scotland's National Centre for Architecture, Design and the City.

Everyday a school day on Glasgow "The Day" :)

But to be honest I first really heard about it when my favourite band James played a live gig here and put a version of "Just like Fred Astaire" on their Millionares album. Still the best recording of this song live. Tim Booth, the lead singer, tells the crowd to not get too rowdy as it is a place of art. :) Hey Tim, it's a live gig in Glasgow you knew what to expect!! :)

But I didn't really know what to expect today. Here is some of what I saw...

This is what the building looks like from below. You can see why it gets the name the lighthouse.

The snazzy entrance to this histroric building. Throughout the building they have a really good mix of old and new.

Just one part of one of the exhibits that caught my eye. I'm quirky that way. The Lighthouse has many great exhibitions about various architecture and design themes. And it has a permanent exhibition on the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Not going to post many photos of these. Go see them for yourself. And also for me the real star of the show is the building itself. It is fantastic.

Just some of the details in the building. The glass panels in the stair well each depict a different kind of person. This was my favourite, the dreamer :)

But for me the very best part of the building is the tower and the view from the top. Above is the view down the spiral stairs. It's a long way up and a bit of a climb. And here is another small confession. I'm not great with heights!! The lengths I go to to bring you these posts!!! :) However the climb is well worth it... (Miley Cyrus is right about that one :) )

Looking North you can see the Glasgow Metropolitan College, the City Chambers and the Gallery of Modern Art in Royal Exchange Square. (Oh!! There has been no cone on Wellingtons head all week if you have been wondering :) )

Looking South over the roof of Central Station.

Slightly more North East. Can see Buchanan Galleries and the spire of the Tron church which I spoke about in yesterday's post.

This is just some of the view from the top. Now as I said the rain had arrived in Glasgow today so was bit cloudy when got up there. But Glasgow "The Day" isn't about the perfect photo, it about how it looked today. But hope you get the idea of just how amazing the view is across the rooftops of Glasgow.

And this especially caught my eye. A lovely little rooftop garden complete with shed!!

And finally ... just to give a level of the detailed design in the building. And because it just made me laugh. This is the sign for the toilets!!! :)

As I said I wasn't sure what to expect from the Lighthouse today but was not disappointed. The view from the tower worth going for alone.

Will go back again on a sunnier day and take some photos of Glasgow in the sunshine.

The sun did break through later and Buchanan street had gotten it's buzz back by the time I was heading for the train home. Even Adrian the Escapologist from Adelaide was entertaining a big crowd back outside Borders. I really do love this city.

Be well, be happy!!