Spiral view inside the Lighthouse

View of spiral staircase from base of observation tower at the Lighthouse in Glasgow.

The former Glasgow Herald building was renovated and launched as The Lighthouse, Scotland's Centre for Architecture, Design and the City in 1999 as part of UK City of Architecture and Design.

Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1895, as a warehouse at the back of the printing office of the Glasgow Herald. Mackintosh designed the tower - a prominent feature of the building - to contain an 8,000-gallon water tank. It was to protect the building and all its contents from the risk of fire.