Former AA office knocked down overnight

james73 · Former AA office knocked down overnight

Former AA office knocked down overnight (Evening Times)

NOT even the credit crunch can halt the continuing transformation of Glasgow
into one of Europe's top metropolitan cities.

Workmen were busy in the city centre demolishing what was previously
the Automobile Association's Scottish HQ.

Intercity House on the corner of Oswald Street and Argyle Street had
become a city centre eyesore, despite sitting next to Hielanman's Umbrella
and the grade A-listed Central Station.

Now workmen have flattened the building which is to be replaced by a
prominent 21st century landmark. Evolution House is costing £25million
and is shaping up to be one of the city's iconic buildings.

Designed by architects Cooper Cromar for developers Edinburgh-based
developer Buccleuch Property, it will feature an eye-catching nine-storey
tall glazed tower, which will have a curved seven-storey facade clad in
natural stone.

Evolution House will offer 71,000sq ft of office space while shops on the
ground floor will take up 5500sq ft. Construction giant Sir Robert McAlpine
is expected to complete building work next year.

James H

cybers

Difficult times indeed.
I remember the AA in there but the pic clearly shows the BSM and RAC of all things lmao...

Think scary mentioned this was going a while back too

Scary

I did mention it cybers, I also had a couple of visitors from here too

My earliest memory of Intercity House was it being the Greenshield stamp building, but I may be havering

At the same time that pic^^^^ was being taken I was at Argyle St corner taking a pic myself

Fjord

Another good bit of demolition work there Scary that corner looks bright and airy now.

cybers

on the original photo at the top is that an exposed arch that has now appeared to the right of the machine ?
seems a strange place to have a window butted up against a hooj big building

Stuball

That looks like the window/door for the Arches Cafe Bar.... theres a lane at the back

HollowHorn

wee minx

Some pics from today, while I was doing some shopping

Now exposed wall of Central Station

Central Station wall and arches

Central Station bridge and demolition site

View from Inter City to Midland Street, through Midland Lane

fastnet

That looks far better.

the facade looks good now.

james73

View of the area from the 1960s

James H

Alex Glass

Great work Scary - another job well done

Fantastic picture James

I passed that building every day for about three years in the early eighties.

cybers

That old B&W James posted is a stoater this could be a past near now and future post all on its own...
Cue Spiderman

Scary

Thanks for the comments folks and the pictures Minx and James

I`ve had a bit of fun tracing the history of previous buildings on that site, I will post it up when I have some spare time.

HH thanks for confirming

tombro

James,

Your picture of that junction is just as I remember it before leaving Glasgow for Australia at the end of 1960. Thanks for that memory and a question for someone to answer.

From memory, albeit fifty years later, I can picture a large department store or furniture store on the bottom left corner. Can anyone confirm or negate this for me ?

As for the revealed arches, wouldn't it be wonderful to have them kept totally revealed as a significant heritage listing ?

Tombro

Scary

Inspired by cybers post here`s a wee run down of events since 1836.

(Shamelessly lifted from elsewhere)
St Peter's Parish Church, Oswald Street.

The church hall was built in 1836 as a chapel of ease. The parish was erected in 1853 as St Peter's Church quoad sacra (ie; an independent parish for church purposes only, without teinds or heritors to provide for a manse, church upkeep etc). The congregation seems to have moved to a new building in Brown Street in the early 1900s. It terminated in 1951 when it united with St Martin's as Anderston and St Peter's, and subsequently became part of Anderston Kelvingrove.

In 1936 the old St Peter's was converted to a zoo by the Wilson family, which had previously kept a zoo under the railway arches in Argyle Street. Wilson's Zoo became very popular, offering a pet shop in the basement as well as cages on two floors containing diverse animals such as tightrope-walking lions and lionesses which performed twice a day; a black panther; monkeys; a badger; parrots; macaws and a mynah bird which spoke in a Glaswegian accent. The zoo closed in the 1950s and the building was later demolished.

Aerial view (cheers James)

That pic dates as pre 1964 as Intercity House was built in `64`There you go Tombro, you turn your back for a minute and the place disappears

Intercity pre-demo

Latest view (Cheers Minxy)

Pictures of the obligatory " Hole in the ground" to follow.

When the Credit-Crunch receeds we might see this taking place there.

tombro

Brilliant pics, Scary, and especially those of the Oswald Street Zoo Building.

I remember my Anderston Granny taking me and my older brother to that zoo, sometime in the late 1950's. It was during a Summer School Holiday and, from memory, the smell was pretty horrendous.

Thanks for bringing back some good memories !

Tombro

Stuball

I was at the back of that site last night at the arches.... its the exit for the smokers area although its pretty confined because of the cabins

kev

Great pic on V Mitchell
http://www.mitchelllibrary.org/vi...p?i=12572&r=2&t=4&x=1

wee minx

Waow...fantastic pic Kev9.
I found this pic too from the Evening news about the Zoo in Oswald Street in the photo above.

Edward Campbell with his lions at Andy Wilson's zoo, Glasgow in 1940

Scary

Great pic from VM kev, don`t know how I missed it in there, so thanks.
Interesting link there Minx. All this history in a wee corner of Glasgow , I love it

james73

That single storey building looks like the same one that was at the base of
the AA building. Was it the case that the AA building was built above it?

James H

Fjord

It does look like it as the dimensions seem appropriate.

Scary

A straight no to that one James. Intercity was a total build top to bottom I think there were issues about bulding higher than 1 storey cause of the proximity of the lower level lines on Argyle St.

jamesbrownontheroad · Re: Former AA office knocked down overnight

falseface

the young lady on the left looks no bad

glasgowken

Don't like the way it dominates the station

Former AA office knocked down overnight

Re: Former AA office knocked down overnight