As a family we regularly visit the Glasgow Concert Hall and have done for a long time. We have seen all sorts perform there, such as: Belle and Sebastian, The The, Roaming Roots, King Creosote etc
I came across the above photograph of ‘The Glasgow Concert Hall’ in the Trove archive. It was dated 1959 but had no further annotation. I assumed that this was an ‘earlier version’ of the Glasgow Concert Hall. Keen to understand better, I undertook some further research. Here is some of what I found.
The Glasgow Concert Hall, in the above 1959 photograph, filled the gap between 1962 (the St. Andrew’s Hall fire) and 1990 (the opening of the current Royal Concert Hall).
St Andrew’s Hall, Glasgow [AI sketch from Trove photograph]:
1909, Ordnance Survey map, St Andrew’s Hall, Glasgow:
25 October 1962, The Scotsman [this was to be the very last night of St Andrew’s Hall]:
26 October 1962, Edinburgh Evening News: The fire started as a result of a dropped cigarette
Photographs from Trove:
The Gaiety Cinema, Argyle Street, Anderston Cross . The building originally opened in 1899 as the Tivoli Variety Theatre (also known as the Gaiety Theatre/Cinema). It primarily hosted variety acts, Christmas pantomimes, and eventually movies.
20 January 1963, The Scotsman:
9 January 1963, The Scotsman:
20 September 1963, Motherwell Times:
4 October 1963, Daily Record:
6 October 1963, Sunday Post:
1963, Demolition [AI sketch from poor quality photograph]:
16 December 1968, The Scotsman:
The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall officially opened its doors on 5 October 1990 to anchor the city’s year as the European City of Culture. Designed by famed modernist architect Sir Leslie Martin, the £28.6 million venue served as a triumphant cultural symbol of urban regeneration:
