Former Glasgow Herald Building, from Mitchell Street

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

1893-5

Corner of Mitchell Street and Mitchell Lane, Glasgow

The original building on this corner site, completed to John Baird's design in 1870, was extended for storage and shops as well as newspaper offices. Mackintosh was only a junior draughtsman at this point, working for Honeyman & Kepie, but his "involvement in the design of this scheme is betrayed by its water tower, the asymmetrical fenestration and characteristic carved organic decoration" (Fiell 46). [continued below]

[Detail]

Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

The unusual corner tower hides an 8,000-gallon water tank. The British Architect journal of 1896 saw the building as close to eccentric, but admired the way its boldness and originality went with "some sense of architectural dignity" (see Fiell 46). The tower might have been inspired by one designed by James McLaren's tower at Stirling High School (see Williamson et al. 230). For a diagrammatic view of the whole Mitchell Street elevation, impossible to capture by camera from the narrow roadway, see Gerry Blaikie's informative website, "Charles Rennie Mackintosh — Glasgow Buildings."

References

Fiell, Charlotte & Peter. Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928). Cologne: Taschen, 1995.

Williamson, Elizabeth, et al. Glasgow. Buildings of Scotland series. London: Penguin, 1990.

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Last modified 27 October 2009