St Enoch Square

St. Enoch Square is a public square in Glasgow, Scotland, situated at the junction of Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, the city's two busiest shopping streets.

The foundation stone of the St Enoch area was put down on April 12, 1780. The area was created with grand Regency style buildings between around 1780-1820. The focal point of St Enoch Square was St Enoch's church, originally designed by James Paterson around 1780. This church was then substituted for another church designed by David Hamilton around 1825.

St. Enoch Square has been home to many chapels and churches, namely the Church of St. Thenew, where her resting place is. The last St. Enoch Church was demolished in 1926, in order to allow development of a bus station and a car park.

The St. Enoch Station originally opened in 1876, and the St. Enoch Hotel opened in 1879. The hotel was the largest hotel in Glasgow, with other 200 bedrooms. The station and hotel were both one of the first buildings to be lit by electricity in the city. The hotel eventually closed in 1974, and was used as a car park until work began on the St. Enoch Centre in 1985. A £150 million refurbishment programme began in 2005 after being purchases by Invanhoe Cambridge. This work did not conclude until May 2010. Along with this work, the St Enoch Square received an upgrade, transforming the area into a plaza like environment, housing large screens for broadcasting, and generally creating a more pleasant urban area for pedestrians.

The area was originally illuminated with gas lamps, but have since been replaced by electrical lighting.

Refurbishment of the St Enoch Subway began in 2014, and was completed in 2015, in an attempt to create a more modern and efficient environment. The £5.3 million contract involved replacing the entrances to the subway with new entrance canopies made of glass and steel, replacement of the floor, wall and ceiling materials, and general upgrading of facilities and equipment.

Previously the site of a succession of churches, the St Enoch railway station opened adjacent to the square in 1876, and the St Enoch subway station in 1896. The original ticket office of the subway station still stands today, and is currently a branch of Caffè Nero.

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