Built in 1878, the A-listed Glasgow Central Post Office was the city’s postal headquarters until 1995; in 1999, it was bought by Stefan King’s G1 leisure group with plans to turn it into a 5-star hotel, but this fell through, and it was sold again in 2005 to partners AWG and HF Developments, for conversion into office space.
Conversion is now almost complete – the facade has been retained, with a new interior built and a new steel cupola. At present, though, and for the past 8 years, it has been a giant billboard:
Allegedly, Mr. King was getting more money in advertising revenue than he would from developing the building, hence the kerfuffle – development did go ahead, though, and this is what it looked like inside in Summer 2007:
So, stuffed full of mince pies and vegetarian turkey, I ventured forth to explore something in Glasgow City Centre – and what could be more central than no. 1 George Square?
The view from the top of the new cupola is absolutely stunning:
The view from the penthouse office suites:
The cupola is surprisingly small, but has wonderful views both North:
And South:
Two cranes tower over the site:
George Square’s Winterfest in full swing:
Inside, a few traces of the old building remain on the walls – I hope they save these tiles:
Lower down, though, it’s all new:
