PEOPLE living in the first high-rise to be built in Glasgow are celebrating the diamond anniversary of their West End homes.

Dozens of householders gathered to mark the occasion in the resident's common room at Partick's Crathie Court flats as the building's owners Glasgow Housing Association Chairman, Gordon Sloan, unveiled a commemorative plaque.

A plaque was also unveiled on a park bench in the grounds by resident Stevie Leitch in memory of former tenant the late Betty Low, who moved into the complex when it was first built. Betty died earlier this year.

The art deco Crathie Court was designed after the Second World War in 1949 as an experiment by the Glasgow Corporation in high-rise living.

The eight-storey building with balconies running along its full length, was finished in 1952 and later that year won a coveted Saltire Award for its design.

Once dubbed the 'spinster flats', its first residents were all either unmarried women or widows.

The women at Crathie Court lived in 88 self-contained studio apartments, complete with a living-room and bed alcove, their own kitchen and bathroom, as well as central heating and hot water.

The building was modern for its time, having automatic lifts and a common room and sun parlour for social meetings.

Many residents described the accommodation, with rent at 22/9 (22 shillings and nine pence a week) – or around £1.12p in today's money – as "ideal", after having spent years of living in service rooms or lodgings.

It was the first multi-storey building in the city and for a while, dominated the West End skyline. However it was overshadowed by other complexes in the city, such as the South Side's 10-storey Moss Heights, built in Cardonald in 1953.

The West End development is now considered an architectural gem among tower blocks.

Today, the studio flats house mostly older people – both men and women – and the complex has recently undergone a £2.6million revamp, carried out by current owners GHA, which included; new windows and heating, new kitchens, bathrooms and doors, painting and tiling the closes and landscaping in the block's surrounds.

The common room was also revamped and a had new TV installed.

Tom Niven, chairman of the Residents' Association, said: "We decided it would be a good idea to mark the diamond jubilee of the flats.

The flats were innovative in their day, being designed solely for ladies, and they went on to win a Saltire award.

"Today there's still a good community spirit in the flats too."