Charing Cross is a major

road junction A junction is where two or more roads meet. History Roads began as a means of linking locations of interest: towns, forts and geographic features such as river fords. Where roads met outside of an existing settlement, these junctions often led ...

in the Scottish city of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. It is situated north of the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

at the intersection of

Sauchiehall Street Sauchiehall Street () is one of the main shopping streets in the Glasgow city centre, city centre of Glasgow, Scotland, along with Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, Glasgow, Argyle Street. Although commonly associated with the city centre, Sau ...

, St George's Road, Woodlands Road, North Street and Newton Street, as well as being at a major interchange of the M8 motorway. Taking its name originally from a block of tenements named Charing Cross Place built in the 1850s, which continue at the south-west corner with North Street, the junction of

was formed as part of the original development of

Blythswood Hill Blythswood Hill, crowned by the elegance of Blythswood Square, is the wealthiest part of central Glasgow, Scotland. It extends from the west edge of Buchanan Street to Gordon Street and Bothwell Street, Charing Cross, Sauchiehall Street ...

including

Blythswood Square Blythswood Square is the Georgian square on Blythswood Hill in the heart of the City of Glasgow, Scotland. The square is part of the 'Magnificent New Town of Blythswood' built in the 1800s on the rising empty ground west of a very new Buchana ...

, St George's Road and North Street becoming known as Charing Cross, linking the city centre and the new West End, commencing at

Woodlands Woodlands may back refer to: * Woodland, a low-density forest Geography Australia * Woodlands, New South Wales * Woodlands, Ashgrove, Queensland, a heritage-listed house associated with John Henry Pepper * Woodlands, Marburg, Queensland, a her ...

and

Sandyford Sandyford () is a suburb of Dublin, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. Sandyford Business District makes up much of the suburb and encompasses 4 business parks: Sandyford Business Park, Stillorgan Business Park, Central Park and S ...

. Much of its architecture was destroyed when the motorway was built through it in the late 1960s, notably the Grand Hotel at its heart. It still marks the boundary between the

City Centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

and the West End of the city. There are ornate red sandstone tenement blocks dating from the late Victorian period at two corners of the junction, at the north-west (St George's Mansions, Frank Burnet) and south-east (Charing Cross Mansions,

John James Burnet Sir John James Burnet (31 May 1857 – 2 July 1938) was a Scotland, Scottish Edwardian architecture, Edwardian architect who was noted for a number of prominent buildings in Glasgow and London. He was the son of the architect John Burnet (arch ...

), while nearby landmarks include the

Mitchell Library The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the City Council public library system of Glasgow, Scotland. History The library, based in the Charing Cross district, was initially established in Ingram Street in 1877 following a ...

. In 2019, Glasgow City Council put forward plans to cover over more of the motorway (which is in a cutting through the area) with a parkland area to better connect the areas on each side. Charing Cross was also part of the so-called

Square Mile of Murder The Square Mile of Murder relates to an area of west-central Glasgow, Scotland. The term was first coined by the Scottish journalist and author Jack House, whose 1961 book of the same name was based on the fact that four of Scotland's most infamou ...

, the location of a series of sensational murders which scandalised Victorian society.House, Jack ''Square Mile of Murder''

Charing Cross railway station Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a central London railway terminus between the Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover via Ashf ...

is a short distance to the south; the nearest

Glasgow Subway The Glasgow Subway is an underground light metro system in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the fourth-oldest underground rail transit system in Europe after the London Underground, Liverpool's Mersey Railway and the Budapes ...

station is

St George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross, the Cross of Saint George, is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with the cru ...

, located at the junction of the same name to the north of Charing Cross, also much diminished in its importance by the installation of the M8. abstract mural by Keith McCarter Nearby is an abstract concrete relief mural by

Keith McCarter Keith McCarter is a Scottish sculptor, with several works on public display. Career McCarter was born in Edinburgh in 1936 and studied at Edinburgh College of Art. He received an Andrew Grant Scholarship which allowed him to travel through ...

, made circa 1972.

Gallery

File:Charing Cross, Glasgow.png, Charing Cross around the turn of the 19th century, with the Grand Hotel on the left File:Mitchell Library in North Street Charing Cross.jpg, The Mitchell Library in North Street, c. 1912 File:Charing Cross, Glasgow in 1966.jpg, The Cameron Memorial Fountain besides the Grand Hotel, 1966 File:63-71 St George's Road and Charring Cross.jpg, St George's Mansions, built in 1901 File:Wfm m8 bridge to nowhere.jpg, The "bridge to nowhere", a raised podium over the M8 that was developed into an office building in the 1990s

References

External links

* {{Authority control Areas of Glasgow Road junctions in Glasgow Motorway junctions in the United Kingdom