Mitchell Library 201 North Street
Allegorical Figures of Wisdom and Literature Sculptors: Johan Keller and Thomas John Clapperton
In his speech at the opening ceremony the guest of honour, the Earl of Rosebery, committed a gross faux pas when he referred to the library as ‘this cemetery of blogs nobody knows why he said such a blatant untruth, but it certainly gained him no friends and, in the great traditions of any vendetta, he was still being hounded by the Glaswegian press over twenty years later.
Glasgow Airport Map Photo Gallery
Seated on a throne above the entrance to the Mitchell Library is the stern, hooded figure of Wisdom, whilst high up on the central dome we see Literature, running forward with robe blowing in the wind, eager to hand us the scroll she is holding. Along the Granville street side we can see the facade with its solemn rank of statues. That is all that remains of St Andrew’s Halls, which was gutted by fire in 1962 and turned into a wing of the library.
There were allegations of favouritism when it was revealed that William B. Whitie, former assistant to the city engineer, had been awarded the contract to build the library over seventy six other submissions. The original plan was for the building to be without dome, ornamentation or statues, as they were thought to be too expensive, and it is a mystery how the project was completed as we see it today when the budget was barely exceeded.
St George’s Mansions 63 St George’s Road
Architects: Burnett and Boston
St George’s Mansions were designed for the City Improvement Trust; the back court was conceived as a saloon serving the shops. Across the facade of the red sandstone tenement, we see three pairs of winged cherubs, each with individual shields bearing elements from the arms of Glasgow: a bell, a tree, and a bird.
