Glasgow is host to a swathe of stunning architecture - no matter where you go in the city - so today we wanted to share the buildings in Glasgow that we love the most that we believe are underappreciated by Glaswegians and tourists alike.
Architectural styles vary greatly across the city, in the city centre you can find a broad range of Victorian, Art-Deco, Art-Noveau, Georgian, and many more in between.
Glasgow of course is home to some of the greatest architects ever produced in Scotland, most famously Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Alexander “Greek” Thomson.
Many of these buildings are inextricably linked to the city, people make Glasgow of course, but these buildings allow the people of Glasgow to flourish.
Whether they’re civic buildings, religious, residential, or otherwise - we feel that all of these buildings best represent Glasgow as a whole. If you can only take a visitor to 12 spots around Glasgow, these are the dozen buildings that best tell the tale of our fair city.
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Buildings and architecture are a big part of what we like to celebrate about our city here at GlasgowWorld - for our latest article on historic buildings: Buildings of Glasgow: 8 historic Glaswegian buildings saved from dilapidation which now serve a new purpose.
While we’ve lost many of our greatest buildings, thankfully we’ve retained the most historic buildings. Can you imagine Glasgow without the cathedral? It just wouldn’t be the same. It’s important that we all celebrate and recognise the importance of these buildings, or it’s all too likely that we could lose them much sooner than we think.
Take a look below at 8 of Glasgow’s most historic buildings that are underappreciated - whether because of their location, their perception, or in one case, because it’s been covered in scaffolding for 20 years.
1. BOAC Building
Hidden in plain sight on Buchanan Street, you won't be able to miss it now. Built for the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in 1970, the building has a steel frame with a copper cladding on the upper-floor, noticeable by its grid-iron hexagonal window openings. | Contributed
2. Queen’s Cross Church
The Queen’s Cross Church is the only church in existence to be designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. It was commissioned in 1896 by the Free Church and the building opened up for worship in 1899. Dr Thomas Howarth, Mackintosh’s first biographer, wrote of the church, ‘"the building possesses a warmth and charm conspicuously absent from many churches of the period due largely to the traditional simplicity of Mackintosh’s architectural forms and to the mysticism and spirituality of his decorative motives." | © Glasgow Life. All rights reserved.
3. House for an Art Lover
In 1901, 33-year-old Mackintosh entered a competition to design a ‘House for an Art Lover’ which was organised by Zeitschrift Für Innendekoration, a German design magazine. The building was later constructed between 1989 and 1996 - over 60 years after his death. | Contributed
4. Britannia Panopticon
The world’s oldest surviving music hall. At one time a boisterous crowd of up to 1500 would gather to watch the singers, dancers and comedians. Eccentric showman AE Pickard installed a carnival in the attic and a zoo in the basement. Now, a charitable group promotes the legacy of building and continues to organise events, including silent movie screenings. Stan Laurel made his debut on this stage in 1906. | Supplied