56-60 South Street, Bo'Ness

James Thomson, dated 1900. 3-storey, 5-bay (above ground), Renaissance-detailed commercial and residential block with shops at ground. Stugged ashlar with polished dressings and rusticated quoins. Ground floor entablature, continuous frieze, eaves cornice and blocking course. Lugged architraved windows above ground forming vertical panels with pulvinated windowheads, cornices and relief carved aprons. Centre bay (above ground) flanked by part-fluted Corinthian pilasters and surmounted by pediment with acroteria. Banded dividing pilasters with fluted capitals to ground; keystones; bracketted cills to 1st floor; stone mullions.

N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: centre bay at ground with small keystoned window flanked by panelled timber doors (that to left 2-leaf) with deep plate glass fanlights; traditional shop to left with in-canted part-glazed timber door, mosaic-patterned doorstep and panelled soffit to centre and fixed flanking display windows; modern shop in bay to right. 1st floor centre bay with relief carved detail below cill of keystoned bipartite window giving way to carved swag and further bipartite window above, flanking bays with single window to each floor, and bipartite windows to outer bays.

S (REAR) ELEVATION: asymmetrically-fenestrated elevation with variety of elements including single storey projections at ground right and left, pend entrance off-centre right with stair windows to centre above.

W ELEVATION: blank elevation with dominant shouldered wallhead stack. Neighbouring property adjoining at outer left.

Plate glass glazing in timber sash and case windows. Grey slates. Coped, shouldered and banded ashlar stacks with square cans, truncated wallhead stack to rear.

INTERIORS: decorative plasterwork cornices; cantilevered stone staircases with decorative ironwork balusters and timber handrail to No 56 and plain ironwork balusters to No 58; panelled shutters. Shop at No 60 also with decorative plasterwork cornices and original inner display windows.