Glasgow-bound

August 25, 2004 4:00 PM

GlasgowFilter: I am going to that fine city in a couple of days for my sister's wedding. Looking for any good book/record/vintage shops in town, as well as any not to be missed modern architecture (outside of Charles Rennie Mac). Ta much.
posted by grimley to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

mono is a fantastic place - it's a record shop, inside a pub. they stock everything cool and alternative - no chart stuff anywhere near the place. it's on king street, just near the big open car park. i think they also have books. i'm slightly biased, because they stock my first single. but it's a cool place nontheless.

and you might want to check out the nearby lighthouse - scotland's centre for architecture and design.
posted by nylon at 4:42 PM on August 25, 2004

Books:Surprisingly poor showing on the bookshop front. There's a big Borders and a big Waterstone's, but I know that's not what you mean. There's a shop called Caledonian Books on the same street as Kelvinbridge underground (turn left), but it's not amazing, just good.

Vintage: Get off at Hillhead Underground, and turn left, then explore the area around there (Byres road).

Records: Mono, like nylon says. There a few other good shops, like Missing and Fopp which aren't unique to Glasgow but are still good places for records. There's a cheapish place next door to Burger King on Sauchiehall Street, near the Royal Concert Hall.

Architecture: Can't immediately think of any good modern stuff. All the buildings that make the place famous are old. There's the armadillo/science centre/glasgow tower (get the low-level train to SECC and follow the big red tunnel) I suppose.
posted by bonaldi at 4:54 PM on August 25, 2004

i forgot - avalanche records on dundas street is also good for new and used alternative music.

the tower that bonaldi mentions is 'the only building in the world capable of turning 360 degrees from the ground up. The aerodynamic structure allows the entire building to be turned to face the wind, thus reducing wind resistance.' [from here]
posted by nylon at 5:06 PM on August 25, 2004

when i was there, the lighthouse had a whole set of brochures for architectural self-guided walking tours...there are incredible merchant buildings (a knockoff of the ca' d'oro, and a florentine palazzo knockoff, etc), and the people's palace/winter garden is beautiful too. There's new pomo housing near the palace, and old factories right there that are great too. Tons of wonderful buildings, and the people are even better. : >
posted by amberglow at 5:06 PM on August 25, 2004

thanks for the tips, will dutifully check them out.
posted by grimley at 5:23 PM on August 25, 2004

I was at the science center a couple weeks ago, and the tower was not open. I didn't know the whole thing was designed to turn.
posted by Goofyy at 11:47 PM on August 26, 2004

It was supposed to, but it's been shut for three years because of endless problems. As of this week, it's open again.
posted by bonaldi at 8:07 PM on August 27, 2004