Grand Central Hotel (Glasgow)

The Grand Central Hotel (usually known by locals by its original name the Central Hotel) is a large 4-star hotel in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland.

Grand Central Hotel
Central Hotel viewed from south Gordon Street, Glasgow
General information
LocationGlasgow, Scotland, UK
Coordinates55°51′35″N 4°15′29″W
Opening1883 (1883)
OwnerIHG
Design and construction
ArchitectRobert Rowand Anderson
Other information
Number of restaurants2
Website
www.phcompany.com/principal/glasgow-grand-central-hotel/

The hotel forms the front of the Glasgow Central railway station on Gordon Street, directly adjoining onto the station concourse. It was one of Glasgow's most prestigious hotels in its heyday, hosting residents as famous as Frank Sinatra and Winston Churchill.

It was originally designed by Robert Rowand Anderson, in 'Queen Anne style'; he also furnished the public rooms.[1] The hotel was completed in 1883, but was extended along with the station in 1901–1906.[1] The hotel extension was designed by James Miller and it opened on 15 April 1907.[1] The world's first long-distance television pictures were transmitted to the Central Hotel in the station, on 24 May 1927 by John Logie Baird.[2]

Following the break-up of British Transport Hotels in the early 1980s, the hotel was sold in 1983 and passed through the hands of various private operators until The Real Hotel Company plc was forced into administration in February 2009, and the hotel subsequently closed amid concerns of asbestos contamination and structural deterioration.

In June 2009, it was revealed that Principal Hayley Group had acquired the hotel. They refurbished it and re-opened it as the Grand Central Hotel on 9 September 2010.[3][4] Together with the rest of Glasgow Central railway station, the hotel is protected as a category A listed building.[5]

References
  1. Johnston and Hume (1979), pages 38–41.
  2. Interview with Paul Lyons Archived 2 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, historian and Control and Information officer at Glasgow Central Station
  3. Nicoll, Viviene (25 June 2009), Return to Grand Central in £20m hotel revamp, The Evening Times, retrieved 19 August 2009
  4. "£20m refurbishment almost complete at Glasgow's Grand Central Hotel". 9 September 2010. Archived from the original on 12 September 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  5. Historic Environment Scotland. "71, 97, 99 Gordon St, and 16, 18, 50 Hope St, Central Station & Hotel, (former Caledonian Railway Station)...  (Category A) (LB33029)". Retrieved 20 March 2019.
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