Buchanan Street - History

History

Buchanan Street was first feued in 1777 and was named after a wealthy Tobacco Lord, Andrew Buchanan of Buchanan, Hastie, & Co. He was proprietor of the ground on which it was formed from Argyle Street as far North as Gordon Street.

The land around the north and northeast of Buchanan Street was formerly home to Buchanan Street railway station. Originally owned by the Caledonian Railway, then the London Midland and Scottish Railway and finally British Railways, Buchanan Street station was closed in 1966. It was not rated highly either for location, architecture or convenience. Glasgow Queen Street station is immediately to the East of Buchanan Street, and the Buchanan Street station on the Glasgow Subway (which also serves Queen Street Station) is underneath the North end of Buchanan Street. The St. Enoch station of the subway is at the South end of Buchanan Street.

Buchanan bus station was opened at the Northern end in 1978, at the same time as the street itself was pedestrianised between Bath Street and Argyle Street. The most Northern reaches of the street were badly dilapidated following the closure of the Glasgow NAAFI and the railway station, but this was addressed in the 1990s by the construction of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in 1990, and the adjoining Buchanan Galleries shopping mall in 1998. In 1999, the entire street was repaved with high quality granite stonework and striking blue neon lighting. The combination of impressive Victorian architecture and modern urban design won Buchanan Street the Academy of Urbanism 'Great Street Award' 2008, beating both O'Connell Street in Dublin and Regent Street/Portland Place, London. The area between Argyle Street and St. Vincent Street is particularly popular with buskers.

The bus station was also substantially redeveloped following the closure of the bus station at Anderston, and became the principal bus terminus in the city centre. It was renamed simply as "Buchanan Bus Station", since the street itself now terminated some distance away due to the building of the Concert Hall.

In May 2002 the Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled a statue of the late politician Donald Dewar at the northern end of the street. The statue was criticized for its ugliness, and was repeatedly vandalized, leading to it being placed on a raised plinth to protect it.

In March 2011, it was revealed that Land Securities had secured planning permission to rebuild the last remaining derelect site on the northern end of Buchanan Street opposite the Buchanan Galleries complex - the new buildings will incorporate new residential and retail space, Bringing some big names to Glasgow's retail offering, including Scotland's first Forever 21, Banana Republic (clothing stores), Sketchers as well as Scotland's largest Paperchase (company), and many more. This new development will extend westward onto West Nile Street, removing the former General Accident office block, and the vacant land on the corner of Bath Street. It shall be finished in Spring 2013. http://www.buchananquarter.co.uk/