IT IS hard to believe, but this picture of a barren looking area of Glasgow is the city centre, with Cathedral Street at the bottom and North Hanover Street running into the distance.

The white building is the MacDonald's Furniture Store, which has recently announced it will be closing as the area is set to be redeveloped.

On the left the dirt area is now the car park for the Buchanan Galleries while, in the distance, is the old Parliamentary Road, which used to be one of the main roads in Townhead.

It was the original north eastern continuation of Sauchiehall Street, but various redevelopments, including the construction of Buchanan Bus Station in the late 1970s, saw a rearrangement of roads and it has now gone from city maps.