The City Halls are part of a market complex designed by John Carrick in 1882, but the grand hall itself was designed by George Murray and opened in 1841. It was the first hall suitable for large gatherings and concerts to be built in the City and played host to the likes of
Benjamin Disraeli,
Charles Dickens, Hungarian patriot
Lajos Kossuth and
William Ewart Gladstone. From its early days it hosted a wide variety of popular and classical concerts including those by touring groups such as
Louis-Antoine Jullien's celebrated London-based orchestra and
Charles Halle's orchestra from Manchester. Glasgow's first regular orchestral subscription concert series, played by an orchestra managed by the Glasgow Choral Union, was given in the grand hall from 1874 until the opening of the much larger St Andrew's Hall in 1877.
Arthur Sullivan was its conductor for two seasons from 1875 to 1877. The Old Fruitmarket directly adjoins the grand hall and was a functioning market until the 1970s after which it was in occasional use for jazz and folk music events. The adjoining buildings were home to bustling produce markets such as the fresh fruit and flower market and the cheese market. In the past it featured concerts by the
Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. For a number of years, after the destruction by fire of the
St Andrews Hall in 1962, it was used for concerts by the
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, until the opening of
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in 1990. It has also been a venue for many of Glasgow's Festivals, including
Celtic Connections, Mayfest and the
Jazz Festival, as well as political and trade union gatherings. It has been protected as a
category A listed building since 1970. ==Concert hall==