Saint Vincent Street

 Saint Vincent Street looking towards Merchant City & Montrose Street.

 

 

Kingston Halls

 Funded by a Philanthropist: In the early 20th century, the Glasgow Corporation decided to build a municipal building in the Kingston area to serve the growing population, largely due to local dockside activities. The project was made possible by a significant donation from the Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

Architectural Style: Designed by Robert William Horn under the supervision of the City Engineer, A. B. McDonald, the building was constructed in the Edwardian Baroque style using red sandstone. A large female sculpture by Richard Ferris, "figure of learning," adorns the front.

Opening: Kingston Halls was officially opened on September 8, 1904, by the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Sir John Ure Primrose. It was the first Carnegie-funded library to open in the city. The building incorporated a public hall for community events, a public library, and a police station.

Fire, Refurbishment, and Changing Use

1948 Fire: The building was severely damaged by a major fire in 1948.

Reopening: Following extensive refurbishment, the halls reopened in 1957. The main entrance was blocked off and converted into windows, with the former public library doorway becoming the new main entrance.

Cultural Hub: The halls became a key venue for community events, including cultural celebrations. Notably, in 1965, it hosted Pakistan Independence Day celebrations, attended by Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, a former president of the UN General Assembly

Racial and Political Tensions: The halls were also the scene of racial and political tensions in the 1970s, including a skirmish between trade unionists and police during a demonstration against fascism, an event locally known as the "Kingston Halls Police Riot."

Closure as an Events Venue: The building closed as an events venue in 1981, following years of depopulation in the area caused by the construction of the Kingston Bridge and associated motorways.

 The building was subsequently taken over by the Talbot Association, a charity founded by Vincent Buchanan to provide accommodation and support for homeless people. It continues to serve as the charity's headquarters and provides housing for some 60 homeless individuals.

 Kingston Halls is a Category B listed building, recognizing its historical and architectural significance.

Crowne Plaza

 The sun set reflecting in the windows of the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

King George V Dock

 King George V (KGV) Dock in Glasgow is a significant part of the city's maritime history. It opened in 1931 to accommodate the increasingly large vessels that were using the River Clyde. Named after the reigning monarch at the time, it was designed as a large, single basin with unrestricted entry. While it was initially envisioned as the first of a new series of docks, the economic depression of the 1930s meant that no further development occurred.

Throughout its history, KGV Dock has been a vital point for trade, handling a variety of cargoes, including animal feeds, grains, industrial equipment, and steel. It is the largest dock on the Upper Clyde and, notably, the only one still operational within Glasgow's city boundary.

In recent years, the dock has undergone a significant transformation, moving from traditional cargo to new industries. It has become a key hub for the renewable energy sector, handling components for wind turbines. Since 2005, it has processed components for a large percentage of Scotland's total installed wind capacity.

The dock has also seen other redevelopment projects. In 2022, a world-leading metal recycling company, EMR, opened a new facility for processing and recycling scrap metals and end-of-life vehicles. 

Hutchesons' Hall

 Located in the Merchant city area,158 Ingram Street, Hutchesons' Hall was commissioned in 1802 and designed by architect David Hamiltion .
The original building was sited in Trongate. In 1802 a replacement was commissioned to be built at a new site. Classically styled, the building was built at the north end of Hutcheson Street and features two statues carved by sculptor James Colquhoun in 1649 of the Glasgow lawyers Thomas and George Hutcheson on its south elevation. The Hutcheson brothers had bequeathed monies left in trust to build a school for poor boys and an old men's hospice. These statues were originally incorporated in the Trongate building and thus pre-date the Hamilton building by over 150 years.

The building is owned by the National Trust and is an A listed building.(abridged from Glasgow Architecture)