When St. Enoch Square was originally opened in 1783, its main
use was for grazing sheep! Since then it has seen some of
Glasgow's finest landmarks come and go, such as the St. Enoch
Church and St. Enoch Hotel. St. Enoch Train Station first
opened its doors in 1876 and the St. Enoch Hotel followed in 1879,
with over 200 bedrooms it soon became the city's largest
hotel. St. Enoch Station itself saw many famous faces over
the years with perhaps one of the most prominent being that of
Queen Victoria who arrived in Glasgow on August 22nd 1888 to view
the International Exhibition in Kelvingrove Park.
The St. Enoch Hotel was closed in 1974 and the site was used as a
surface car park until 1985 when initial work started on the St.
Enoch Shopping Centre. In 1996 the Centre was sold by the
Church Commissioners and Sears Properties Limited to a German
Pension Fund called Deka Immobillien for £160 million.
During the early part of 1998 St. Enoch Centre underwent a major
refurbishment programme to add more retail space and enhance the
entrance facing onto Argyle Street.
In February 2005, the St. Enoch Centre was purchased by its current
owners, Ivanhoe Cambridge, who started working on the exciting
development plans that are now underway and that will transform
Glasgow's City Centre when completed in Autumn 2009.
For more information about St. Enoch's history and the current
transformation programme, please contact a member of the Centre
Management Team.
History