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A wee bit more on Tontine Lane after yesterday's photos. What links a Neapolitan banker with this atmospheric backstreet? A thread... https://twitter.com/PastGlasgow/status/1028260238938521600
The lane takes its name from the Tontine Hotel which once stood at Trongate. It was built between 1737-60 as the Town Hall and was acquired by the Tontine Society in 1781 for conversion to a hotel.
Tontine societies emerged in the 17th century as a way to raise capital. Investors pay into the society & receive a dividend on the amount invested. As each investor dies their share is split between the remaining investors. This process continues until only one investor remains
Tontines were named after Neapolitan banker Lorenzo de Tonti who is credited with coming up with the concept.
Allan Dreghorn's Town Hall was remodeled by William Hamilton & opened as the Tontine Hotel in 1781. Foundation works revealed a logboat in a layer of laminated clay 410m from the present river bank.
The hotel housed a coffee shop and society rooms frequented by the great and the good of the day.
Cecilia Douglas, the last surviving nominee, died in 1862 aged 91. You can read about her here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/27301
In 1868 the building was sold and became the drapery warehouse of Moore, Taggart & Co. They became known for providing railway uniforms as well as military uniforms for the Canadian & Scottish Highland regiments.
In 1911 the building was gutted by fire and had to be demolished. The current building of 1912 is by Robert Horn and forms an extension to the adjacent 1906 warehouse development. But back to the lane itself...
Tontine Lane features early 20th century loading bays and warehouse blocks, finished in reflective white brick to bring some light into an otherwise dark space. Piercing the darkness are two neon signs.
The first of these once illuminated the entrance to the Mitre Bar at 12-16 Brunswick Street. It was opened in 1927 by well-known city public James Halliday and sat on the bottom floor of the building in which the first Prime Minister of Canada was born in 1815.
This film was shot in 1967 as part of Canada's centennial features the bar and its locals http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/visiting-the-birthplace-of-canadas-first-prime-minister
The second looks like it was rescued from an old cinema but is actually a public art installation by Turner Prize winner Douglas Gordon.
The lettering is reversed so that the observer must stand at the correct angle to view the sign reflected in the reflective surface behind. The sign pays homage to the ones shining through Kim Novak's window in Hitchcock's Vertigo http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12284275.A_city_of_dreams_reflected_in_bright_neon/
The sign was originally mounted high on the wall opposite The Mitre & Fox & Hounds bars on Brunswick Lane. The site was acquired by Selfridge's in 2007 & demolished in 2013 with plans for their Glasgow store officially abandoned in 2014.
It awaits redevelopment as the Candleriggs Quarter https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2015/02/goldbergs-site-to-be-reborn-as-candleriggs-quarter/
The lane was put to use as a pop up bar & restaurant in 2015 by Ricky Scoular and Brian Traynor for Heverlee. It brings life to a forgotten corner of the city and offers a tantalising glimpse of what we might expect from the city centre "Laneways" project. [END]
A wee addendum to mention the Tontine Heads which you can find in the St Nicholas Garden behind the Provand's Lordship. These masks were originally attached above the bays on the front of the building. More info here: http://www.glasgowsculpture.com/pg_images.php?sub=tontine
