A Son of the Rock

Designed by Weddell and Inglis in 1937, the Beresford was opened to provide hotel accommodation for visitors to The Empire Exhibition of 1938 which was held in Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park.

The building is a stunner. A great example of high Art Deco. The present red on the facade may be a teeny bit over the top; I think white Art Deco buildings like this really ought to have pastel colours as highlighters, though it does look more pastelly in the close-up.

You can view the Beresford in its heyday at the Glasgow Story where it looks as if it has been somehow snatched from the streets of New York or Chicago and plumped onto Sauchiehall Street to sit rather like an alien spaceship.

Some more views including an interior shot are on this site.

For a while the Beresford had been converted to accommodation for students of Strathclyde University when it was known as the Baird Hall, at which time parts of the frontage, especially the rounded columns, seem to have been painted in a more restrained mustard colour.
As my Alma Mater (The University, as it still styles itself) is its city rival, I have to say that the chance of staying in the Baird Hall would have been the only reason to attend Strathclyde.

The building was sold on in 2003 and has now been refurbished to form 112 apartments.

Some more of its internal deco elements are on show here and there is also an apartment view.

For a 3D-ish colour sketch look no further.

There are numerous pictures of the Beresford on flickr including some night views.

What an absolute belter of a building.