The former Fruit Bazaar in Bell Street, pictured in 1982 for Glasgow City Council's newspaper, The Bulletin.
A fourishing fruit and vegetable market has existed in Glasgow since the 12th century. The Candleriggs area became the centre for this market in 1817. City Engineer A B McDonald designed the building in the photograph, which opened in 1907. The market moved to Blochairn in 1969.
A vivid description of the area in 1926 was given by Robert Eadie in his book Glasgow: its character, romance and charm: "Colour abounds in this quarter where foregather the merchants of fruit. Carts and motors laden with produce for the shops rattle over the stones. Those picturesque characters, the street hawkers, muster with their hand-barrows, their shawls as vivid often as the fruit they sell. A pleasant aroma of oranges and fresh vegetables pervades Bell Street, bringing a hint, among the solemn buildings, of country gardens or sunny foreign groves."
Reference: Bulletin photographs, Box 10, July/August 1982
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
bazaars, Bulletin, Fruit Bazaar, Fruit Market, fruit merchants, hawkers, markets, street traders, vegetable merchants, vegetables