royal exchange square

[woodie20]

Hi Everyone, I am about to start a research project on the role of royal exchange quare in the cultural redevelopment of glasgow, and I am just trying to get some glaswegian views on how the square has changed since the GoMA opened (I'm a newbie to the city).

Particulary interested in what happened to the original shops, and whether people feel the square has lost its identity since the opening of 'upmarket' shops?

Also anyone's opinions on the square as a goth/skater hangout and whether it has always been an area where goths and skaters meet up?

[potatojunkie]

Also anyone's opinions on the square as a goth/skater hangout and whether it has always been an area where goths and skaters meet up?

Goths and skaters used to meet up at the Virginia Galleries. Following its closure, they moved to "the boxes", a rather motley assortment of plant boxes (since removed) which sat outside Virgin Records on Argyle Street. There was an exodus to the GOMA mid-1999, where the numbers grew until you could hardly see the building. GOMA staff retaliated by putting "Four Seasons" on a perpetual bloody loop, without much success.

Yes, I used to go hang out there when I was wee. I am not ashamed.

[Dugald]

Particulary interested in what happened to the original shops, and whether people feel the square has lost its identity since the opening of 'upmarket' shops?

Woodie, I can't help you with the 'upmarket' shops, but I can help you a bit with an old shop that was part of the square for countless years. I'm talking about a bookshop called I think, "William Porteous", which stood at the corner of the square where it opened out to go to Buchannan St.

This shop always had a great selection of history books, especially ones dealing with military and naval history. It was also a great source of information relating to Clyde pleasure steamers. As well as books, they had, an enormous selection of picture post cards of ocean liners, Royal Navy ships and Clyde steamers. It was for example, one of the few shops in Glasgow which I knew of which sold "Janes fighting Ships".

Their selection of books dealing with old Glasgow, railways, charts and maps, was very good. They also sold books dealing with the sport of sailing, and the better class magazines. It was also a great source for works by Scottish authors.

The last time I was in the shop, probably about 16 years ago, I bought an instrument for measuring map distances; they were also selling tourist Scottish souvenirs. I could be wrong, but I got the impression their collection of all the previously mentioned material wasn't just as exciting as it once was... but maybe it was just that I didn't find it just as exciting as I once did.

The first time I visited this shop was probably in the very early forties. The last time I visited the location of the shop, about ten years ago, but again just a guess, I stood at the place where it once was, and a passer-by told me the shop had closed; I was very disapppointed. My wife and I then went into the square and sat outside a little tearoom in the sun (first time I'd ever sat outside a tearoom in Glasgow!)...the end of one era, the beginning of another, eh?

Good luck with your project Woodie! Cheers, Dugald.

[Fossil]

Particulary interested in what happened to the original shops, and whether people feel the square has lost its identity since the opening of 'upmarket' shops?

Woodie, I can't help you with the 'upmarket' shops, but I can help you a bit with an old shop that was part of the square for countless years. I'm talking about a bookshop called I think, "William Porteous", which stood at the corner of the square where it opened out to go to Buchannan St.
.

Its a f'in Starbucks now

AIB is gone which was on the corner its Reiss now.
I do like the stary sky whish they could keep that all year round

Fossil

[HollowHorn]

I do like the stary sky whish they could keep that all year roundl

Agreed! Is the gun & knife shop still there?

[John]

I am not a fan of GOMA although the coffee shop in the basement is good.

I much preferred the building when it was Striling's Library. It had a wonderful interior and a superb music manuscript section. I really miss it.

I have gone into GOMA several times but get bored after 5 mins.

J

[woodie20]

cheers everyone,

potatojunkie, was there any reason for "the mass exodus to the GOMA" or was it just because there was no other suitable meeting place in the city centre? Also was there any other reaction to your presence from shopkeepers/public apart from the goma staff?

[duck]

Dugald wrote

I'm talking about a bookshop called I think, "William Porteous", which stood at the corner of the square where it opened out to go to Buchannan St.

That was one of the best bookshops in Glasgow. As a boy having to go through the city centre on my way home from school every day I used to love nipping in there! Porteous and John Smith's on St Vincent Street were the best for Glasgow books.

[Dugald]

That was one of the best bookshops in Glasgow. As a boy having to go through the city centre on my way home from school every day I used to love nipping in there! Porteous and John Smith's on St Vincent Street were the best for Glasgow books.

Hello David: Among my first ventures "up the toon", as we called it in Govan, were my visits to two book stores, the first of which was Wm. Porteous, and the second, a "Smith" bookshop located on Union St. beside the entrance to the Central Station. I don't know if this "Smith" was the same "John Smith" as mentioned by you, but it kept the same sort of stuff as the Porteous shop, although perhaps not just so much of it. I enjoyed a lot of time in these two shops and even today I still have a number of books and lots of postcards which i obtained from both of these shops. I don't know if they were the best book shops in Glasgow, because they were the only two book shops I ever visited in Glasgow.

[AlanM]

The bookshop on Union St was Grant's, there was also a branch on Havelock St, just off Byres Rd where Pacitti Jones is now.

[Dugald]

The bookshop on Union St was Grant's, there was also a branch on Havelock St, just off Byres Rd where Pacitti Jones is now.

You're right Alan; sorry about that, you have refreshed my memory. Thank you!

[duck]

AlanM wrote:
The bookshop on Union St was Grant's

Yes thank God for that - it was driving me mad trying to remember the name!!

[AlanM]

I only remembered as it had been mentioned before. (that and the fact I practically lived in the Havelock St branch)

[potatojunkie]

potatojunkie, was there any reason for "the mass exodus to the GOMA" or was it just because there was no other suitable meeting place in the city centre?

The boxes were small and crap and there wasn't really anywhere you could sit down.

Also was there any other reaction to your presence from shopkeepers/public apart from the goma staff?

The general public reaction was bemusement. The only hassle was from neds, and that wasn't until after I'd moved on. There were a few fights and a couple of muggings*. Hellfire, then located in the basement of Flip on Queen Street, did good business with such a ready-made customer base right outside, and Danny (then owner, and the loveliest guy you could hope to meet) was well chuffed. This was the start of Hellfire's expansion: it took over most of the basement units, then moved with Flip to Bath Street, later moving to its own premises on Renfield Street, and finally opening a second store back on Queen Street.

Borders also tried to ban goths from their shop some time around 2002–2003, but given that it was a)unenforcable and b) probably illegal, it didn't last very long.

Costa Coffee didn't take too kindly to drunk weans vomiting in their toilets, as I recall.

You might want to get your hands on the BBC's "Glasgow Goth Kids" programme from 2003-ish.


*Eventually leading to some idiot weans deciding they were going to be in a gang and fight back. They called themselves Goths And Thugs, somebody got stabbed, and three of them were arrested.

[Verbal Kint]

Borders also tried to ban goths from their shop some time around 2002–2003, but given that it was a)unenforcable and b) probably illegal, it didn't last very long.

I am ashamed to say I worked in Borders during that time from 1999 - 2003. I used to find it funny that I could get in the shop wearing my New Rock boots and a Rammstein hoodie but none of my friends could set foot in the place.

I did make the problem worse for Borders as I was in charge of the rock and pop section and decided to create a metal / punk section to encourage more goths into the store and I used to blast out KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails and the Sisters Of Mercy for most of the evening.

The management didn't believe there should be a metal and punk section and it got taken away after a couple of months and I got moved back to video where I could not cause any harm.

I did make a complaint to the management about the lack of tolerance for the goth contingiant and won my case with the general manager before I left a couple of months later.

The place has gone to the dogs now and the selection of music has become very generic