Here’s a fantastic nostalgic photo you won’t have seen before. It’s Glasgow Road in the early 1970s looking east. In the foreground is the Cosy Corner Pub at the corner of Greenside Street leading off to the left. To put this in context Greenside Street would be where the bus stop is now in front of the Sports Centre, once directly opposite the end of Craig Street.
The buildings on the right, on the south side of Glasgow Road are Central Buildings.
The whole scene completely unrecognisable. Not one of these buildings remains. A town centre and busy retail sector, raised to the ground at the end of that decade and into the next.
I can only imagine a Blantyre future where we’d kept all these tenements to support many dozens of thriving local businesses, renovating them, making them fit for purpose and built large carparks behind them. Perhaps built Asda on the fringes of Blantyre such as at the Priory Playing fields or within all the space we had at the time around this town. A comparison to similar sized towns still with bustling Main Streets like Larkhall, is easy to make.
With thanks to Valerie Krawczyk for sharing.
The first house on the right was Doctor Adam Stewart and Dr Cassidy’s surgery before he died and Dr Cassidy joined forces with her sister Dr Connachan. Dr Stewart was the best doctor anyone could have.
Dr Stewart was my grandfather who died before I was born. It is so nice to hear such lovely memories of him. Thank you Tom.