Window move cleared for Willow Tea Rooms
THE £10m plan to restore a Mackintosh masterpiece has made a major move – of nine centimetres.
The project to restore the Willow Tea Rooms building in Sauchiehall Street has taken a small but significant move forward, by moving a key window back to the position originally intended by the Scottish architect, designer and artist.
The window of the Salon de Luxe, perhaps the most famous room in the tea rooms, has been returned to its original position by builders working for the Willow Tea Rooms Trust, which is undertaking a major restoration of the building.
The window had been moved at some point in the building’s long life since it was first opened in 1903.
The window was moved, it is believed, by Daly’s Department Store after they purchased the site in 1927.
As part of the Trust’s restoration project it has been carefully moved back in place, as has the window below it, on the ground floor.
It has also been revealed that, after a copyright dispute with the owner of the Willow Tea Rooms, Anne Mulhern, who now runs the tea rooms with that name at the nearby Watt Bros department store, the building, and its adjacent new education and training space, will be called Mackintosh At The Willow.
Pamela Robertson, Professor of Mackintosh Studies at the University of Glasgow, said: “Moving the Salon de Luxe window back to its original position is an integral part of the project to restore the Willow Tea Rooms to their former glory.
“It is seemingly a small change, but significant in showing the level of care being devoted to the project.”
Moving the windows is a key part in the 18-month project that aims to be completed in time for the 150th anniversary of Mackintosh’s birth next year.