Empire Bar, Hamilton

A basic urban pub built 1907 in classic island bar-style. It retains its original island bar counter with short partitions and some front panels that were added in the 1980s. The dividing strips, ornamented with a badge and a diamond, are original: the Formica bar top is new, and running just underneath all the way along it is a match-striker. The original two-part island gantry has a modern top section. The old vestibule entrance on the Glenlee Street side has three doors, one of which originally led to the family department. There is a shallow vestibule on the Glasgow Road side entrance. The two open sitting rooms on the left look little altered since the 1930s; the small lounge at the rear is now a store room.