Charing Cross is a major

road junction A junction is where two or more roads meet. History Roads are a means of transport, historically linking locations such as towns, forts and geographic features such as river fords. Where roads met outside of an existing settlement, these junct ...

and area within the centre of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is situated north of the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

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, which runs beneath in a subterranean cutting. Charing Cross marks the notional boundary between the

City Centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

and the West End of the city. Charing Cross borders Woodlands to the west,

Anderston Anderston (, ) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is on the north bank of the River Clyde and forms the south western edge of the city centre. Established as a village of handloom weavers in the early 18th century, Anderston was an independent ...

to the south, Woodside to the north, and Garnethill to the east.

Architecture

Notable buildings

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

. 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 located in the Charing Cross area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the largest public reference library in Europe, and the centre of Glasgow's public library system. History The library was initiall ...

. Charing Cross was also part of the so-called Square Mile of Murder, the location of a series of sensational murders which scandalised Victorian society.

1960s redevelopment: the construction of the M8

Much of Charing Cross' architecture (along with that of adjacent Anderston) was destroyed when the West Flank of the Glasgow Inner Ring Road (now part of the M8 motorway) was built through it in the late 1960s. Although the road was partially concealed beneath an underpass constructed using the

cut-and-cover A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two Portal (architecture), portals common at each end, though ther ...

method, its construction required the excavation of a massive trench (often nicknamed "The Charing Cross Canyon") which necessitated the demolition of many Victorian and Edwardian buildings - notably the Grand Hotel at its heart. The most infamous structure of the motorway's construction, however, became the "Bridge to Nowhere" – a concrete podium over the motorway, on top of which it was intended that an office building be constructed. Despite a string of new office blocks being constructed to replace the demolished buildings – Newton House, Elmbank Gardens, Nye Bevan House and Portcullis House in the early 1970s, and Fountain House in the early 1980s – the podium structure was left unused for over 20 years and became a source of much derision from both the local press and public, being looked upon as a monument to the partial abandonment of the controversial Inner Ring Road project. As such, the podium was not developed until 1992 when Tay House (300 Bath Street) – a distinctive salmon pink office building, was constructed atop the structure. Although it contained prestigious tenants such as Barclays Wealth, Tay House was later derided as one of Glasgow's ugliest buildings, and is slated for demolition under the regeneration masterplan (see "Future Developments" below) In 2019, Glasgow City Council put forward plans to cover over more of the motorway with a parkland area to better connect the two districts on each side.

Charing Cross railway station Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a London station group, central London railway terminus between the Strand, London, Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South ...

is a short distance to the south; the nearest Glasgow Subway station is

St George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross (or 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 ...

, 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. Nearby is an abstract concrete relief mural by Keith McCarter, made in 1971 as part of the Elmbank Gardens office complex.

Future developments

In 2022, a consultation was launched by

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

on the regeneration of the area and plans to improve the public realm of Charing Cross and relink the communities that were severed by the construction of the M8 in the late 1960s. A key plank of the proposals continues to be the construction of a raised garden to partially cover the trench in which the motorway runs The Charing Cross Gateway ("CXG") project was unveiled in August 2023 by London and Scottish Property Investments (L&SPI) – the owner of the Tay House and Elmbank Gardens office complexes which occupy much of the required land. Under the proposals, the section of Tay House (300 Bath Street) which sits atop the infamous podium structure will be demolished, whilst the remaining structure of the building will be repurposed as either a new office block or residential complex. Meanwhile, the Elmbank Gardens complex will see both of its low-rise office blocks demolished with its 13-storey hotel tower remaining in place, which will be integrated into the new development. The surface buildings of Charing Cross Station will also be demolished and replaced. The city block bordered by Bath Street, Newton Street and Elmbank Streets will be repurposed for new office developments and student apartment towers. Additional proposals for the adjacent block further south on India Street - will see the former sites of Nye Bevan House and Portcullis House cleared and redeveloped with a new 36-storey student accommodation tower known as The Ard

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:Cameron Memorial Fountain - geograph.org.uk - 110421.jpg, The Cameron Memorial Fountain pictured in 2011 File: Glasgow CharingCross.jpg, Charing Cross looking west, towards Woodlands Road File: The M8 motorway at Charing Cross - geograph.org.uk - 3532393.jpg, The Charing Cross underpass on the M8 motorway, looking north File:63-71 St George's Road and Charring Cross.jpg, St George's Mansions, built in 1901 File: The Venlaw Building (geograph 3532297).jpg, Elmbank Gardens, an office complex built in 1971; the tower is now a hotel. File: Charing Cross railway station - geograph.org.uk - 3788344.jpg,

, with Nye Bevan House and Portcullis House - office blocks constructed in the early 1970s File: The Clydesdale Bank building at Charing Cross - geograph.org.uk - 3532267.jpg, Fountain House, an office block built in 1982, named for the Cameron Memorial Fountain (in the foreground) File:Wfm m8 bridge to nowhere.jpg, The Charing Cross Podium, which was developed into Tay House in 1992 file:Keith McCarter - Abstract Wall Relief (Glasgow) from left.jpg, Concrete mural by Keith McCarter underneath the Elmbank Gardens hotel tower

References

External links

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