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Summary

Description

A traditional double plan, three storey and three bay polychrome (red and contrasting yellow-white) brick building, originally comprising store and stable, built by the architect Alexander Adam in 1905 for James Fraser rag and metal merchant.

The main street elevation is symmetrical and has giant arched panels in the outer bays spanning from ground to second floor and a central bay with entrance at ground floor. There are pairs of windows in each bay at first floor and two Diocletian (semi-circular shaped) windows in the outer bays of the second floor, flanking two smaller round-arched windows at centre. The building has deep twin-gabled side elevations with symmetrical fenestration in each bay apart from the north-eastern one which is windowless and rendered. The double pitched roof is partly covered by graded natural slate and black concrete tiles; it has concrete coping stones and skewputts. All the windows have been blocked. There was originally a gablet with apex stack in the central bay of the front elevation which has been partly removed and covered (2015). There are some brick repairs to the ground floor and there was a square section chimney stack at the rear of the building which no longer survives (2015).

The building appears on the Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 'Lanarkshire Sheet VI.SE' (revised 1910, published 1914).

It is prominently located on Tobago Street within the east end of Glasgow with vacant land to its immediate north and south. The surrounding formerly industrial area has been recently redeveloped for housing.

Statement of Special Interest

It is a good surviving example of an early 20^th century industrial-commercial building which largely retains in its original plan form and architectural detailing, the extent of which is more unusual for a building of this type. Despite some alterations including the loss of the front gablet, apex stack and rear chimney, the building exterior survives largely unaltered and still retains many of its design features, in particular the polychromatic brick detailed as tall classical round arches, the symmetrical Diocletian windows and round-arched windows.

It is now a prominent historic building in the local streetscape. The demolition of a number of former industrial buildings along Tobago Street has led to the loss of much of the historic setting. However, traditionally this part of Glasgow is closely associated with the city's industrial history and the location of 75-77 (Odd Nos) Tobago Street contributes to our understanding of the its former function and the historic context of the area.

The building is now a rare and exceptional surviving example of an industrial- commercial building in the area which has experienced substantial redevelopment.

It has special social historical interest for how it represents Glasgow's social and economic history.

The supplementary information in the listed building record was updated in 2025.

References

Bibliography

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