Glasgow has went through many different historical eras - and the evidence of that heritage can get lost a lot easier than you think - so today we’re taking a look around the city for some of Glasgow’s history that’s hidden in plain sight.
Glasgow’s been around for hundreds upon hundreds of years, so we can’t be expected to remember absolutely everything - but a lot of the stuff we’ve forgotten about is a lot more interesting than you might think.
Earlier this year we ran a story on some of the old factories, warehouses, former churches and post-industrial spaces of Glasgow that are now used for an all-together different purpose. You can read that article here!
1. Beresford Building
The Beresford on Sauchiehall Street building has lived many lives in its near century long history, going from a trendsetting hotel to a treasured student halls before becoming the private accomodation we know it as today. So much history is associated with the Beresford Building, generations of communities were fostered within its walls, with many of famous faces of the 20th century gracing the lobby at some stage. JFK gave his first ever speech in his political career on behalf of his politician father, capitulating with the folks of Glasgow asking them not to call for war with Germany before WW2 after a German U-boat sunk a Glaswegian ship.
2. The village below Glasgow Central Station
The industrialisation of Glasgow made the city undergo some rapid revolutionary change that required levelling of entire districts of the city. This was the case with Grahamston, once a small village along the Clyde just West of Glasgow. The city boundaries expanded to the villages borders with the Merchant City boom, and eventually subsumed the village as a district of Glasgow - with industrialisation and heavy industry, we needed a lot more trains to pump in and out all the coal, steel, and people the city needed. Glasgow Central Station was needed, and it's location was right on top of Grahamston. The old village was levelled, and in Glasgow Central rose from the rubble. If you walk down between platform 3 and 4, you're walking directly over the old main street of Grahamston.
3. Underneath Glasgow's oldest streets
High Street is Glasgow's oldest street, and buried beneath the modern tarmac is a treasure trove of hidden history. Last year there were also some really interesting discoveries on a waterworks project. Scottish Water uncovered some old tram lines, an old hydraulic line which could have helped operate the lifts in flats, and of course lots of cobbles.
4. Botanic Gardens Railway Station (1896-1939)
One of the most visible old stations in Glasgow - you can still look down on to the old platforms from the open-air roof vents in the Botanic Gardens. The building was converted into shops after the station's 1939 closure and by the late 1960s was occupied by a popular café called 'The Silver Slipper', a nightclub called 'Sgt. Peppers' and a plumbers shop, 'Morton's'. It was ravaged by fire on the night of March 22 1970 - it remains derelict to this day.