Glasgow has been the heart of culture, clubbing, pubbing, and general good times in Scotland for generations - but in those generations, we’ve lost a good number of Glaswegian institutions.
These pubs and late-night clubs were the meeting points for football fans before the next big game, the staging post for after-work pints for both heavy industry and office workers, and gossip spots for students - they were many things to many people over the decades they were open. Many of these pubs would define an era of Glasgow - like the Burns Howff in the 70’s and 80’s and it’s commitment to live local music.
We wanted to look back at the best of these lost spots in Glasgow - so take a gander below at these lost Glasgow places that are gone, but certainly not forgotten.
1. John Street Jam
The former head of security at John Street Jam, which is now Committee Rooms No.9, the former head of security at the Jam recalled the place was absolutely bouncing from Thursday to Sunday in our comment section.
2. Granny Black’s
Granny Blacks in Candleriggs was the first ever hot-food takeaway in Glasgow and could be found in Merchant Square. Established in 1820 as The Stag, the pub once offered a range of upstairs function, meeting and private dining rooms. Before the days of licensed legal strip clubs, it was one of the few Glasgow pubs to host strippers, which put them in the bad books of the city’s licensing board. In 2002 as the Merchant City redevelopment was hitting its stride, a burst water pipe saw the pub’s adjoining tenement, fortunately then empty, collapse into the street. Despite a campaign from regulars, within days bulldozers moved in and knocked Granny Blacks down in the clean-up operation. One GlasgowWorld reader shared fond memories of working in the pub during it’s prime.
3. Burns Howff
The Burns Howff was, at one time, one of the best known live Rock venues in Glasgow. Situated on West Regent Street, the Burns Howff was the place to go for some of the best live music. Before Rufus T. Firefly and the Solid, the Burns Howf was the place to go to sate your rock needs; it is even said that Alex Harvey met his Sensational Band mates there. Sadly, the Burns Howff closed its doors for the last time in 1984, but its legend lives on; most Glaswegians of a certain age will have a story to tell about this hallowed venue. Several readers recall messy nights in the Howff. Photo: Kafuffle\wikimedia
4. Old College Bar
Old College Bar on High Street was once considered the oldest pub in Glasgow, but shortly after it shut down the manager revealed it to be a lie made up to drum publicity - while it was still old, it wasn’t quite as old as they claimed. In spite of all that, it was still a great old boozer, and a regular haunt for old Sunday Express copy boys, like one of our readers shared.