A READER phones to remind us that today is the anniversary of the fire that burned down Glasgow’s iconic St Andrew’s Hall at Charing Cross in 1962.
The fire is believed to have been started by a dropped cigarette at a Scotland v Romania boxing tournament the night before. A council spokesman explained that although there was a smoking ban it was never really enforced and it was left to the discretion of staff, who presumably were shy of telling boxing fans to put the fags out.
The hall - it was really a suite of halls - was attached to the Mitchell Library which was only saved because a firewall had been built during the war to save the building from incendiary bombs.
St Andrew’s Hall had arguably the best acoustics in Britain and was then home to the Scottish National Orchestra. It had been built in 1877 for £100,000 with private funds and had a striking classical facade. The city council took it over in 1890 for only £37,000. After the fire only the Granville Street facade remained.
Many major classical singers, including Dame Nellie Melba, had performed there, as well as politicians such as Lloyd George and Winston Churchill at major political rallies.
The council, which received a £1m insurance payment after the fire, was not keen to rebuild on the site because of poor parking, and it was years before the replacement Concert Hall at the top of Buchanan Street was constructed.
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