32-553: The Glasgow Stock Exchange is a prominent building and former financial institution in the centre of the city of Glasgow , Scotland . The exchange was founded in 1844. In 1973, it merged with the London Stock Exchange . As of 2019 the building is occupied by shops, government and other offices. The current building was erected between 1875 and 1877. It is situated on the corner of Nelson Mandela Place (prior to 1986 known as St George's Place) and Buchanan Street ,
64-503: A gap in the market, and hence avoiding the major film distributors`routine of giving preference to UK-wide circuits, up stepped George Singleton, whose cinemas included elegant art deco buildings designed for him by James McKissack. He now headed one of Glasgow's illustrious cinema chain families, and would become a co-founder of the Glasgow Citizen's Theatre alongside James Bridie and Tom Honeyman . The name chosen of Cosmo
96-571: A mix of Ayrshire brick finished with faience cornices, set on a base of black Swedish granite – and inside, where a globe was installed over the stalls entrance. In its original layout, there was just a single auditorium, seating 850. The Cosmo opened on Thursday 18 May, with an advertisement in the Glasgow Herald the following day promising future audiences a programme of ‘continental fiction films, revivals of British and American fiction films, documentary films, cartoons and news reels. There
128-866: A number of theatres and concert venues, including the Tron Theatre , the Old Fruitmarket, the Trades Hall, St Andrew's in the Square , Merchant Square, and the City Halls . A large part of Glasgow's LGBT scene is located within the Merchant City. This includes many clubs, along with a couple of saunas. Recently the city council defined (and perhaps expanded) the area known as Merchant City as far west as Buchanan Street , marking these boundaries with new, highly stylised metal signage. To
160-543: A real appetite for foreign-language film in the city. In fact, Glaswegians in this period had a healthy appetite for film in general: in 1939, they went to the cinema an average 51 times a year, compared to 35 times for the rest of Scotland, and 21 times in England. And they were well-served for cinemas – by the close of the decade, the city could boast 114 in all, with a total seating capacity of more than 175,000. But there was, as yet, no commercial arthouse cinema. Spotting
192-439: A registered charity and embarked on a campaign to raise money for a second cinema to replace the old basement conference room. Screen 2 (with seats for 142), and the downstairs café-bar Café Cosmo, opened for business in 1991. Edinburgh-based architect James Doherty returned in 1998 to revamp the foyer; in a nod to the original design, the new foyer includes a mosaic globe designed by American Glasgow-based artist Todd Garner set into
224-728: A screening of Fellini's Roma . In its new guise, the cinema would continue to show films beyond the commercial mainstream. The key difference lay in GFT's broader remit. Taking London's National Film Theatre as a model, GFT continued to show the latest world cinema releases, but also advanced newer trends in film culture, collaborating with the Third Eye Centre (now the CCA Glasgow ) to show experimental films, screening film seasons, retrospectives and late-night cult classics, and developing educational activities. In 1986 GFT became
256-480: A wide variety of international cinema, classic films and documentaries alongside locally made work and material aimed at a range of community groups. In total, it shows over 600 different films every year, of which 60% are foreign-language. In addition to daily screenings of films, GFT is host to a number of clubs and activities including a Film Discussion Group in the upstairs bar to discuss new mainstream and foreign-language releases. Since 2005, GFT has been home to
288-486: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This finance-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to Glasgow , Scotland , is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Glasgow city centre Glasgow City Centre is the central business district of Glasgow , Scotland . It is bordered by the Saltmarket, High Street and Castle Street to
320-453: Is also home to a number of high end boutique style shops and some of Glasgow's most upmarket stores. The Merchant City is the centre of Glasgow's growing 'cultural quarter', based on King Street, the Saltmarket and Trongate , and at the heart of the annual Merchant City Festival . The area has supported a huge growth in art galleries, the origins of which can be found in the late 80s when it attracted artist-led organisations that could afford
352-696: Is an independent cinema in the city centre of Glasgow . It occupies a purpose-built cinema building, first opened in 1939, and now protected as a category B listed building . GFT's predecessor, the Cosmo, was Scotland's first arts cinema and only the second purpose-built arthouse in Britain, after the Curzon Mayfair in London. Opened on 18 May 1939, it was also the last cinema to be built in Glasgow before
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#1732782664012384-574: Is only one qualification – they must be of first rate quality.’ The opening screening was Julien Duvivier's Un Carnet de Bal (1937). The opening also saw the first appearance of Mr Cosmo, a dapper and bowler-hatted cartoon figure based on George Singleton, designed by Charles Oakley, Chair of the Film Society and the Scottish Film Council . Mr Cosmo figured on posters and adverts for the cinema, and popped up on-screen ahead of
416-660: The Royal Bank of Scotland . The Ministry of Defence have several departments and Clydeport , the Glasgow Stock Exchange , Student Loans Company , Scottish Executive Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department , BT Group , Scottish Qualifications Authority and Scottish Enterprise also have their headquarters in the district. 55°51′46″N 4°15′15″W / 55.86279°N 4.25424°W / 55.86279; -4.25424 Glasgow Film Theatre The Glasgow Film Theatre ( GFT )
448-838: The St. Enoch Centre , with the up-market Princes Square and the Italian Centre specialising in designer labels. Glasgow is generally recognised as the United Kingdom 's second largest and most economically important retail sector after Central London . The city centre is home to most of Glasgow's main cultural venues: The Theatre Royal (home of Scottish Opera and formerly Scottish Ballet which now resides in The Tramway Theatre ), The Pavilion , The King's Theatre , Glasgow Royal Concert Hall , Glasgow Film Theatre , Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), Mitchell Library ,
480-464: The 15th century Glasgow Cathedral and the Provand's Lordship . Due to growing industrial pollution levels in the mid to late 19th century, the area fell out of favour with residents. From the late 1980s onwards, the Merchant City has been rejuvenated with luxury city centre apartments and warehouse conversions . This regeneration has supported an increasing number of cafés and restaurants. The area
512-535: The Centre for Contemporary Arts, McLellan Galleries and The Lighthouse Museum of Architecture, Design and the City . The world's tallest cinema, the eighteen-screen Cineworld , is situated on Renfrew Street. The city centre is also home to four of Glasgow's higher education institutions: The University of Strathclyde , The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland , Glasgow School of Art and Glasgow Caledonian University . To
544-586: The River Clyde. The heart of the city is George Square , site of many of Glasgow's public statues and the elaborate Victorian Glasgow City Chambers , headquarters of Glasgow City Council . To the south and west are the shopping precincts of Argyle Street , Sauchiehall Street and Buchanan Street , the latter featuring more upmarket retailers and winner of the Academy of Urbanism 'Great Street Award' 2008. The main shopping centres are Buchanan Galleries and
576-450: The cheap rents required to operate in vacant manufacturing or retail spaces. The artistic and cultural potential of the Merchant City as a 'cultural quarter' was harnessed by independent arts organisations and Glasgow City Council , and the recent development of Trongate 103, which houses galleries, workshops, artist studios and production spaces, is considered a major outcome of the continued partnership between both. The area also contains
608-494: The cinema included Hamlet (which ran for eleven weeks in 1948), Les Enfants du Paradis (1945), Jazz on a Summer's Day (1959) and Disney's Fantasia (1941), a long-running Cosmo Christmas favourite. A ‘Cosmo Club’, offering films ‘unblessed by the Censor's certificate’, opened in 1960. The Cosmo ran for three decades until economic circumstances dictated that it could not survive in its original form. On 21 April 1973 it
640-540: The east is the commercial and residential district of Merchant City . The Merchant City was formerly the residential district of the wealthy city merchants in the 18th and early 19th centuries, particularly the Tobacco Lords from whom many of the streets take their name. As the Industrial Revolution and the wealth it brought to the city resulted in the expansion of Glasgow's central area westward,
672-446: The east, the River Clyde to the south, and the M8 motorway to the west and north. It is made up of the areas of Garnethill , Blythswood Hill , and Merchant City , though parts of Cowcaddens , Townhead , Anderston and Calton also fall within its boundaries. The city centre is based on a grid system of streets, similar to that of Barcelona or American cities, on the north bank of
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#1732782664012704-399: The floor. In the same period, new sets of curtains were commissioned from Glasgow School of Art graduate Adrienne Brennan (Screen 1) and Glasgow studio Timorous Beasties (Screen 2), both of which reference the ‘cosmos’ in their design. In 1988 the building was B-listed by Historic Scotland . In 2013 café cosmo was moved to the mezzanine level to make way for a 3rd cinema screen. Over
736-433: The main feature in a pose – comic or tragic – appropriate to each release. Over the years, he would become a familiar figure to generations of Glasgow cinema-goers and can be glimpsed around the GFT building to this day. Quality European cinema was central to the Cosmo's programming from the start, with pre-reading of film catalogues being undertaken by Charles Oakley to assist the selections by George Singleton. Programmes in
768-496: The original medieval centre was left behind. Glasgow Cross, situated at the junction of High Street , Gallowgate, Trongate and Saltmarket was the original centre of the city, symbolised by its Mercat cross . Glasgow Cross encompasses the Tolbooth Clock Tower; all that remains of the original City Chambers , which was destroyed by fire in 1926. Moving northward up High Street towards Rottenrow and Townhead lies
800-492: The outbreak of WW2 . The Cosmo arrived at the close of an important decade for British film culture. With the advent of sound in film, language became a barrier and popular films from the continent quickly disappeared from British screens. In Glasgow, audiences for world cinema were served by the Film Society of Glasgow. Founded in 1929, this was the first cultural film group in Scotland, and its growing membership demonstrated
832-631: The summer of 1939 included La Grande Illusion (1937) and La Kermesse Heroique (1935). Though supplies dried up during WW2 and the cinema fell back on more mainstream English-language fare, screenings were enthusiastically resumed shortly thereafter. In February 1946, the Cosmo became the first cinema in the UK to screen a French film made under the Occupation, and Cosmo audiences also saw wartime German features, including – in breathtaking Agfacolour – The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1943). Big hits at
864-768: The way for the IFSD to become one of the UKs largest financial quarters. With a reputation as an established financial services centre, coupled with comprehensive support services, Glasgow continues to attract and grow new business. Of the 10 largest general insurance companies in the UK, 8 have a base or head office in Glasgow - including Direct Line , Esure , AXA and Norwich Union . Key banking sector companies have also relocated some of their services to commercial property in Glasgow - Resolution , JPMorgan Chase , Abbey , HBOS , Barclays Wealth, Tesco Personal Finance, Morgan Stanley , Lloyds TSB , Clydesdale Bank , BNP Paribas , HSBC and
896-555: The western edge of the city centre, occupying the areas of Blythswood Holm and the southern edges of Blythswood Hill , lies Glasgow's financial district, known officially as the International Financial Services District (IFSD), although often irreverently nicknamed by the contemporary press as the "square kilometre" or "Wall Street on Clyde". Since the late 1980s the construction of many modern office blocks and high rise developments have paved
928-902: The years GFT has played host to guests including Richard Attenborough , Elmer Bernstein , John Byrne (playwright) , Danny Boyle , Simon Callow , Robert Carlyle , Robbie Coltrane , Sean Connery , Willem Dafoe , Carl Davis , Bill Forsyth , Stephen Fry , Peter Greenaway , David Hayman , Jane Horrocks , Eddie Izzard , Richard Linklater , Felicity Kendal , Anthony LaPaglia , Paul Laverty , Jonny Lee Miller , Janet Leigh , Mike Leigh , Ken Loach , Baz Luhrmann , David Lynch , Ewan McGregor , Hayley Mills , Peter Mullan , David Niven , David Puttnam , Jean-Paul Rappeneau , Christopher Reeve , Nicolas Roeg , Mickey Rooney , Paul Schrader , Martin Scorsese , Tilda Swinton , Quentin Tarantino , Giuseppe Tornatore and Max von Sydow . GFT screens
960-422: Was attractively brief for signage and advertising, and stemmed from cosmopolitan. Singleton appointed his usual architects James McKissack and WJ Anderson II to work on the new cinema. Their design for the Cosmo's geometric, windowless façade was influenced by the work of Willem Marinus Dudok , a leading Dutch modernist architect. The international theme was continued outside in the choice of cladding materials –
992-655: Was designed by John Burnet in the Venetian Gothic style, believed to have been inspired by the Royal Courts of Justice . In 1906, an extension was added in St George's Place and the entire building was remodelled between 1969 and 1971. The structure is now protected as a category A listed building . 55°51′42″N 4°15′14″W / 55.86177°N 4.25391°W / 55.86177; -4.25391 This article about an organisation in Scotland
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1024-506: Was sold to the Scottish Film Council, re-opening the following year as the Glasgow Film Theatre with the former auditorium subdivided into a 404-seat cinema (now Screen 1) in the former balcony and a conference/exhibition space in the stalls. Mr Cosmo bowed out at a gala screening of Fantasia , announcing he would ‘watch with pride an affection this new development of the old tradition.’ The new cinema opened on 2 May 1974 with
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