Glasgow Past and Present: The tower of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's Caledonia Road Church overlooking a modern housing development in the Gorbals area of the city.
The lone surviving Alexander 'Greek' Thomson Lamp Standard on Queen's Drive is looking rather sorry for itself at the moment having been vandalised with silver spray paint. Anyone know who to contact to get it cleaned off without damaging the details underneath?
1 Moray Place in the Strathbungo area of Glasgow. Built in 1859, it was designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson as part of a terrace of Classical Townhouses. Thomson himself lived here with his family between 1861 and his death in 1875.
The former Pollokshields West Church on Shields Road on the Southside of Glasgow. Designed by W.G. Rowan and built in the late 1870s, it bears a striking resemblence to Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's 1850s Saint Vincent Street Church in the city centre, especially the square corner tower.
The Knowe on Albert Drive in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow. Designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson for the merchant John Blair, it was started in 1852. At the time it was built, the house was surrounded by countryside, but has since been overtaken by the growing city.
One of the three-storey pavilions on Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's Great Western Terrace in the West End of Glasgow. Designed in Thomson's characteristic Grecian style, it was built in 1869
The townhouse of William Burrell, the ship-owner and art collector who donated the Burrell collection to the city of Glasgow. Part of Great Western Terrace in the West End of the city, it was designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson and was built in 1869. Burrell bought it in 1902.
Glasgow University's gloriously Gothic Gilbert Scott building, which opened in 1870, is now not only one of the architectural gems of the city's West End, but also its most notable feature, with its tall, distinctive tower being visible throughout the area. However, the choice of this style for the centrepiece of the new university campus had at least one major detractor and if he'd got his way, we'd now be looking at a very different skyline.
This detractor was none other than Glasgow's own Alexander 'Greek' Thomson. Thomson, perhaps unsurprisingly given his nickname, thought a Classical style was much more appropriate for a centre of learning, and during the planning stages he gave not one, but two talks to the Glasgow Architectural Society on the subject.
An early example of a corner tower on a Glasgow tenement on Nithsdale Road in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow. Designed by Thomson and Turnbull, this tenement block was completed in 1878, three years after Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's death. However, it was started in 1873, and the influence of his hand is clear within the understated elegance of its lines.
I've always wondered what the purpose is of this apparent doorway in the retaining wall of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's Sixty-Six Steps in the West End of Glasgow.
I only noticed today that the characteristic palm frond motifs on 1865 Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's Grecian Chambers on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow (top photo) are echoed on the 1920s Art Deco facade of the neighbouring ABC cinema (bottom photo). This is a really nice architectural touch.
Beauty amongst the mediocrity: the tower of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's last surviving complete church on Saint Vincent Street in Glasgow visible amongst the more modern buildings which now surround it.
I can't be certain, but this looks like original acid-etched details on one of the windows of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's 1860s Eton Terrace in the Hillhead area of Glasgow.
If it is original, it's pretty impressive it's survived so long. If it's not, it's a very good imitation of Thomson's style.
The Greek-style portico of the south wing of Lilybank House in the west end of Glasgow. The original classical-style villa was built in 1850, while this south wing was added by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson in the 1860s.
Interestingly, a north wing was added later another highly influential firm of Glasgow architects: Honeyman Keppie and MacKintosh.
While looking for a 'Greek' Thomson villa around the back of Glasgow University this morning, I seemed to accidently stumble into an M.C Escher painting!
One of the terminal pavillions on Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's Eton Terrace development in the west end of Glasgow. This development was built in 1865 and has many of the classical features typically seen on his terraces.
Love this decoration on 43 Oakfield Avenue in the Hillhead area of Glasgow. Just from this alone, you'd probably guess the building was designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson, and you'd be right. It's part of his Eton Terrace development which was built in 1865.
The Knowe, Albert Drive, Glasgow. This beautiful Romanesque villa was designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson and was constructed in several stages in the 1850s. While it's now part of the city, at the time it was built, it was a rural retreat surrounded by countryside.