Glasgow Architecture

Glasgow's city centre landmarks illustrate the city's rich architectural heritage from the Victorian era. Arriving at Glasgow Central Station, the first view is of the Grand Central Hotel, designed by Edinburgh-based architect Robert Rowand Anderson. The hotel can be entered directly from the Central Station concourse; it opened in 1884, and its latest renovation was completed in 2010. The hotel's enormous sandstone clock tower dominates the corner of Gordon Street and Hope Street

Travelling along Gordon Street from Central Station's front entrance, you arrive at Mitchell Street, containing the former Glasgow Herald building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The building was completed in 1895, and then was re-modelled in 1999 to become the 'Light House', a modernistic visitor centre for architecture and design. Initially designed for water storage for fire precaution, it now houses a spiral staircase leading to an observation platform with stunning views of the city.

James Miller lived in Glasgow for over 50 years and became one of the city's most versatile architects of the early twentieth century. Miller was a contemporary of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, but his reputation has not survived as well.