However, it closed temporarily at the start of the pandemic and never fully reopened.
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A Glasgow City Council spokesman told the Scotsman they had no “independent plans” to reopen the building, but that an “organisation” would like to “take over the operation of the Lighthouse.”
The authority said the business plan included access for members of the public.
The design for a newspaper office on Mitchell Street was Mackintosh’s first public commission.
Completed in 1895, at a cost which would today be equivalent to £2m, the Category-A listed building now known as The Lighthouse would house The Herald until 1980 when new publishing practices created a requirement for more modern premises.
Some 15 years later it was converted and extended to accommodate ‘The Lighthouse’, Scotland’s centre for architecture, design and the city, in 1999, following a 15-month, £8.5m refurbishment.
In 2022, a charity dedicated to promoting the works of Mackintosh expressed its worry about the closure.
Stuart Robertson, director of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, said: “With the School of Art building out of commission, it cuts down the numbers of Mackintosh buildings quite significantly.”
He added: “Around 130 listed buildings are at risk around Glasgow. We wouldn’t want to see the Lighthouse added to that list.”
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: “The council is in active discussions with an organisation who would like to take over the operation of the Lighthouse and their business plan includes access for members of the public – however these negotiations are still ongoing and confidential at this time.
“The Lighthouse is currently closed to the public because the council’s budget position does not enable the building to be staffed to accommodate members of the public. There are some commercial tenants in the building who have their offices located there, and they enter and exit the building as part of their lease agreements.
“The council does not have any independent plans to reopen the building.”
“The Lighthouse remains available for booking for events on a case by case basis where the fee charged for the use of the building covers the costs to GCC to provide access.”
Labour MSP for Glasgow, Paul Sweeney, told the paper: “The Lighthouse on Mitchell Lane is one of Glasgow’s most iconic buildings with unrivalled views of the city centre.
“It has been deeply disappointing that Glasgow City Council hasn’t reopened the much-loved building since the pandemic, particularly given the former Glasgow Herald building was relaunched as Scotland’s National Centre for Architecture and Design as a legacy of Glasgow’s year as UK City of Architecture and Design in 1999.”
He added: “With the Glasgow School of Art restoration still in limbo and the Martyrs’ School in Townhead now up for sale, it’s hard not to wonder if Glasgow risks squandering its greatest architectural legacy.
“The detailed plan for this new organisation to take on the Lighthouse remains to be seen, but I hope it will be an ambitious one that reopens it as a public venue.”