The Merchant City is a district in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Downtown is a term primarily used in North America to refer to a city's core usually in a geographical commercial and community sense Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain.
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History
The area was first formed during the 18th Century to house the wealthy merchant "tobacco lords" who prospered shipping, amongst other things, tobacco, sugar and tea to the Clyde and fabricated goods to the Americas at this time many classical villas were built in the area. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system The Tobacco Lords (or “ Virginia Dons ” were Glasgow merchants who in the 18th Century made enormous fortunes by trading in tobacco from Great Britain's The River Clyde ( Gaelic: Abhainn Chluaidh, avɪɲˈxɫ̪uəj is a major River in Scotland. The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America Lying to the west of the High Street that formed the historic backbone of the city, the development of what is now known as 'the Merchant city' with wide, straight streets, vistas, and squares, marked the beginning of a process of aspirational residential movement westwards that would continue throughout the 19th century and into the 20th with the development of Blythswood Hill, Hillhead and the West End of Glasgow. Blythswood Hill is an area of Glasgow, Scotland. It lies to the immediate west of the city centre and as the name suggests rises to a plateau before dipping again Hillhead is a residential and commercial area of Glasgow, Scotland. Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom
Merchant City
As Glasgow expanded in the 19th century to become the second city of the United Kingdom and its British Empire, the area became a working district of warehouses and home to the city's central fruit, vegetable and cheese markets. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power.
After plans to construct a ring road around the city centre were published in the 1960s the area fell into decline, with many of the buildings compulsorily purchased by the city council to allow for their demolition and the central markets moved to modern premises outside the city centre. However the road was never built and in the 1980s the decision was taken to revitalise the area and its historic buildings with the public ownership of properties allowing large scale redevelopment.
The name 'Merchant City' was coined during this regeneration and is of no historical use. Historically the area was called 'the tron' or 'cross' or simply by most Glaswegians 'the toun' or 'the town'.
The Merchant City has been promoted and built up in recent years as a centrepiece residential, shopping and leisure area, mirroring Covent Garden in the West End of London. Covent Garden (Pronunciation kɒvʌnt is a district in London, England, located on the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwest London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. To this end many new bars and restaurants have been established. This has been complemented with the building of prestigious new housing developments, often by restoring Victorian buildings. The term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of Architectural styles predominantly employed during the Victorian era. An example being the GPO Building development.
Another important element of the area's transformation is high-end shopping, anchored by the Italian Centre, home to, amongst others, Versace Collections (the UK's first Versace store) and Emporio Armani. Gianni Versace SpA (ˈdʒɑnːi verˈsatʃe usually referred to as Versace, is an Italian clothier founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 Giorgio Armani SpA is an Italian fashion company The company designs and manufactures products in several categories including fashion accessories apparel cosmetics The Italian Centre was designed by Page & Park Architects who are fond of including art in their architecture. Here the art is integral to the façades, but also features in the courtyard including a sculpture, 'Thinking of Bella' (1994) by Shona Kinloch. Recent shopping developments include Cruise (store), Escada, Ralph Lauren, Mulberry and underwear and lingerie Agent Provocateur stores. Escada is an international luxury fashion group in women's Designer fashion For the company see Polo Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren (born Ralph Lifshitz on October 14, 1939) is an American Traditionally an agent provocateur ( Plural: agents provocateurs, French for "inciting agent" is a person employed by the police or
See also
External links
- Glasgow Merchant City website
- Merchant City Community Council
- Merchant City Architecture
- Photographs of the Italian Centre in the Merchant City, Glasgow
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