Green Glass George Street
Salvatore Grijalva
ORIGINAL CORNER BUILDING FOR STANDARD LIFE ASSURANCE: 3-storey 9-bay neo-Palladian office. Polished cream sandstone ashlar. At ground, channelled rustication above smooth base course containing basement lights with grilles, entablature with mutuled cornice. Upper floor windows with moulded architraves; corniced at 1st floor, lugged at 2nd. Frieze with cherubs and garlands, dentilled and modillioned cornice; balustraded parapet. PRINCIPAL (GEORGE STREET) ELEVATION: symmetrical, with engaged Corinthian tetrastyle portico at centre, accommodated by projecting ground floor, with corniced doorway; fluted columns on panelled bases, frieze dated MDCCCXXV, pediment with carved tympanum representing the Wise and Foolish Virgins, by John Steell. 4-bay return to St Andrew's Square.
PHASE 1 BLOCK (MYTON BUILDING): to rear, in SE Thistle Street Lane, but visible from George Street. 5-storey block with curtain walls of alternating clear and green glass to N and S; plant clearly expressed on top.
FORMER NO 13: on corner site fronting St Andrew's and St George's Church (see separate listing); 4-storey and attic early Renaissance. Polished cream sandstone ashlar. Round-headed windows at ground, entablature to ground and 1st floors. 1st floor windows pilastered with cill course. 2nd floor windows with alternating canted bays and segmental and triangular pediments, flat bays with balustraded aprons to windows; 2nd and 3rd floors with giant order panelled corner pilasters; entablature with modillioned cornice. 3-bay GEORGE STREET ELEVATION with engaged granite Doric columns at ground and triglyph frieze; pediment above former 2-leaf panelled door to right. Upper floors with canted centre bay. 3-bay attic storey, diminutive version of ground floor supported by lateral consoles, and surmounted by massive pediment with oculus and 3 statues. 5-bay W ELEVATION with inner bays of upper floors canted. Gabled attic; 3-bay central section pilastered with entablature and parapet, balustraded at centre; round-headed aedicule windows with alternate segmental and triangular pediments.
INTERIOR: rebuilt retaining principal entrance, stair and boardrooms of original block. Panelled Entrance Hall containing straight flight of marble steps to principal level; mirrored aedicule on axis at upper level; groin-vaulted ceiling. Arcaded contrasting marble Hall with Ionic pilasters and 2-bay screen to former Telling Room; black and white marble floor; Baroque broken pediment to Entrance Hall. Principal stairhall and landings with fine timber panelling, pedimented doors; cantilevered stair rises to 2nd floor, with quarter landings, painted stone treads and square timber balusters; lit by elaborate glazed dome. At 1st floor, panelled Boardroom on corner with compartmented ceiling; tiered chimneypiece with acanthus scrolls supporting Ionic capitals and frieze, and upper tier with Ionic columns supporting stepped broken segmental pediment; marble slips and hearth; original furniture and Steell bust, 1865; 3 wrought-iron chandeliers; brass radiator grilles in windows. Managing Director's room similarly finished.
The pediment was reused from David Bryce?s building of 1839. Hamilton Beattie?s building was designed for the Royal Insurance Company. Laird?s Phase 1 building interconnects with 13A George Street, known as the Crippled Aid Building (see separate listing). The retention of principal stair and rooms within a major rebuild, was a solution reused by Laird at 28 St Andrews Square, for Scottish Equitable, in an exactly contemporary building also by Dick Peddie & Browne (see separate listing).
Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.
Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.
Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.
These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.
The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.
While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.
If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.
Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.
MOUNT VERNON, Va., April 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the landmark privately funded $40 million Mansion Revitalization Project at George Washington's Mount Vernon, archaeologists have made a significant discovery of two intact European-manufactured bottles in the Mansion cellar. The dark green glass bottles were found upright and sealed, each containing liquid. The bottle shapes are characteristic of styles from the 1740s - 1750s and were recovered from a pit where they may have been forgotten and eventually buried beneath a brick floor laid in the 1770s.
The bottles will be available to the news media until April 30, 2024. Please contact Julie Almacy, Vice President of Media and Communications, to schedule a viewing. After that date, the bottles will be sent for conservation and their contents will be shipped to a laboratory for scientific analysis and testing by specialists in a controlled environment.
"As we conduct a historic preservation effort at the iconic home of America's first President and revolutionary hero, we have been deliberate and intentional about carefully excavating areas of potential disruption," said Mount Vernon President & CEO Doug Bradburn. "Consequently, we have made a number of useful discoveries including this blockbuster find of two fully intact glass bottles containing liquid that have not been seen since before the war for American independence."
"As the bottles are shipped off for a complete scientific analysis, we want to share our findings and next steps for this historic archaeological and preservation initiative at Mount Vernon. This discovery comes at the beginning of an exciting and transformational project to strengthen and restore the home of the nation's first president so that it will be stronger than ever when we celebrate America's 250th birthday in 2026. This historic preservation project is our birthday gift to America," Bradburn said.
Mount Vernon Principal Archaeologist Jason Boroughs said, "This incredible discovery at Mount Vernon is a significant archaeological find. Not only did we recover intact, sealed bottles, but they contained organic material that can provide us with valuable insight and perspective into 18th-century lives at Mount Vernon. These bottles have the potential to enrich the historic narrative, and we're excited to have the contents analyzed so we can share this discovery with fellow researchers and the visiting public."
After the bottles were unearthed, each was carefully removed and transported to the Mount Vernon archaeology lab. Upon consultation with archaeological conservators, it was determined that removing the liquid contents would help stabilize the glass, which had not been directly exposed to the atmosphere for approximately two centuries. Cherries, including stems and pits, were preserved within the liquid contents, which still bore the characteristic scent of cherry blossoms familiar to residents of the region during the spring season.
The Mansion Revitalization Project is underway because today's highly popular Mansion performs functions for which it was not designed. Built as a private residence, it is now a public monument visited by thousands daily, translating to a much heavier traffic flow than the Washingtons could have imagined. That increased visitation causes wear, tear, and strain on the building fabric. Although repairs throughout the Mansion's 290-year history have been accomplished using the best techniques available at the time, some of those repairs are now more than a century old. Significant advances in preservation technology afford exciting opportunities to improve structural and environmental conditions in the building, preparing it for another century of service.
c80f0f1006