An Art Deco Marvel and Glasgow’s first skyscraper hotel
In June of 1938 the Beresford Building opened its doors on what had previously been the yard of a large mansion house. The architect William Beresford Inglis (died 1967) was based in offices nearby in Blythswood Square. He is also responsible for leading on the design of several iconic Art Deco cinemas in the city including in Muirend and Anniesland.
The building stands at number four hundred and three Sauchiehall street in Glasgow. It is a classic example of Art Deco architecture in the city centre. It was described as being the city’s first ever skyscraper hotel and, with the long, clean elegant lines drawing your eye skyward it is not difficult to tell why. The tell-tale long rectangular panes of glass in the windows, elegant simplicity, material choice and no-nonsense curves unapologetically scream Deco and roar with the same confidence of era. The building is constructed using reenforced concrete. The revelation is in the classic Deco ceramic ware with the exterior being clad in red, black and mustard (originally, now white) Faïence.The …
Greendyke street, Glasgow
Halfway along Greendyke Street, the four-storey, red sandstone building opposite the childrens’ playground is the City’s former Hide, Skin and Tallow Auction Market. The building was designed by John Keppie (1862–1945) of Honeyman and Keppie, architects in 1890 and was converted to flats in 2000. The panels on either side of the central former vehicular entrance record the presence in this street of an earlier market building further to the west. The building is listed at Category B.
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Oh the places you’ll go
Dr. Seuss
This project and blog are about the beautiful dilapidated grandeur, urban decay and renewal of Glasgow, the city I love.
It is about our beautiful shared built environment. It is about buildings that are special — buildings that connect us, buildings that make me happy and buildings that can teach us something. It is about what these buildings can tell us about our history and our shared future.
If you follow this blog you’ll learn more and go deeper into the city that you thought you knew…oh the places you’ll go…
The Trongate Town Hall has in fact been known by many names including the Tontine Coffee Rooms. It sits on the Trongate opposite Glasgow’s Tron Theater. Much of the building that can be seen today, was completed in 1781 by the architect William Hamilton. Now mainly used as shops, bars, and restaurants. The Tontine Coffee Rooms was one of the favoured meeting places of the rich tobacco and textile merchants in Glasgow. It was built behind the existing frontage of the town hall with its pedimented windows and street-level arcade. The keystones of the arches of the arcade were carved with heads and grotesques known as the “Tontine Heads”. During the 18th and 19th centuries the coffee shop under the piazza was a meeting place for leading figures from the community. The hotel was reputedly the first in the city and was popularly known by Glaswegians as the “Hottle”. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1911 which also destroyed a number of other significant buildings in the area. It is built using blonde sandstone and has facades on both the Trongate and Albion street. It is a fantastic example of a distinctly Scottish style building with crow-stepped gables on the turret for purely decorative reasons. …
Where lives where lived and lost
While working with the Scottish Refugee Council there was a short time when I made a weekly pilgrimage to the Red Road Flats. It felt like I took a bus to nowhere and then it kept on going and I always remember it feeling really lonely getting off the bus on Petershill Drive to take the elevator to the 29th floor of this unloved Modernist/ Brutalist building with chicken wire over the balcony so you couldn't throw yourself off. …
The Pearce Institute, affectionately known as the PI, has been at the heart of the Govan community since 1906. The Pearce Institute is a fantastic example of a distinctly Scottish style building. It has crow-stepped gables, informally set varied sized sandstone blocks a vast array of beautiful carvings some of which echo 17th Century styles. It has a fantastic octagonal tower, balconied cupola with iron work embellishments to represent each of the countries of the United Kingdom. It has a very beautiful ship finial which is extremely ornate.
It can be enjoyed today largely thanks to the Central Govan Action Plan and Govan Cross Townscape Heritage Initiative which have secured significant investment for its restoration through the generous support…
Musings on the second city
This project and blog are about the beautiful dilapidated grandeur, urban decay and renewal of Glasgow, the city I love.
It is about our beautiful shared built environment. It is about buildings that are special — buildings that connect us, buildings that make me happy and buildings that can teach us something. It is about what these buildings can tell us about our history and our shared future.
When I was growing up my career ambitions spanned from farmer to zookeeper. …
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