People's Palace, Glasgow

People's Palace

Established	1898
Location	Glasgow Green, Glasgow, G40 1AT, Scotland
Visitors	289,977 (2012)^[1]
Website	www.glasgowlife.org.uk

The Winter Gardens: conservatory at the rear of the People's Palace

Hanging depicting the International Brigades fighting in the Spanish Civil War

Detail from the Doulton Fountain

Royal Doulton Fountain, Glasgow Green

The People's Palace and Winter Gardens in Glasgow, Scotland is a museum and glasshouse situated in Glasgow Green, and was opened on 22 January 1898 by the Earl of Rosebery.

Early history

At the time, the East End of Glasgow was one of the most unhealthy and overcrowded parts of the city, and the People's Palace was intended to provide a cultural centre for the people. It was designed by the City Engineer, Alexander B. McDonald. At the opening ceremony Lord Rosebery stated: "A palace of pleasure and imagination around which the people may place their affections and which may give them a home on which their memory may rest". He declared the building "Open to the people for ever and ever".

Features

Originally, the ground floor of the building provided reading and recreation rooms, with a museum on the first floor, and a picture gallery on the top floor. Since the 1940s, it has been the museum of social history for the city of Glasgow, and tells the story of the people and the city from 1750 to the present day. The collections and displays reflect the changing face of the city and the different experiences of Glaswegians at home, work and leisure. Current displays (as of March 2009) include glimpses of typical Glasgow history such as life in a "single end" (a one-room tenement home), going to "The Steamie" (the communal laundry), nights out at "The Dancing" in the famous Barrowland Ballroom and trips "Doon The Watter" (down the Firth of Clyde) on steamers such as the Waverley. The palace is also home to renowned Scottish Socialist John MacLean's campaign desk, which can be found on the first floor.

Closing

The building was closed for almost two years, to allow restoration work to be carried out, with the re-opening being timed to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of its first opening in 1898, and this is recorded on a plaque mounted just inside the main entrance. Renovations extended to include the Winter Gardens to the rear of the building, where the glasshouse was extensively restored and reglazed, and the gardens tidied.

Restoration

As part of the restoration the artist Ken Currie was commissioned to create a series of paintings for the ceiling dome of the museum. The eight panels mark the 200th anniversary of the Calton weavers Massacre of 1787 and depict the history of Glasgow's workers from that point to the present day.

In 2005 further work was carried out when the Doulton Fountain was extensively refurbished and relocated to its present position in front of the museum. At 46 feet high and 70 feet across at its base, it is the largest terracotta fountain in the world. It was originally gifted to the city in 1888 after the International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry by Sir Henry Doulton to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, and is decorated with a figure of the Queen and groups from Canada, Australia, India and South Africa representing Britain's Empire.

During the 1980s, one employee gained local fame when she became a member of the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union, after NALGO refused her admission as a blue collar worker. This was Smudge, the People's Palace cat, who ensured the building did not become home to small, unwelcome visitors. Glasgow's Lord Provost made press appeals and police searches were carried out when she disappeared for 3 weeks in 1987, eventually re-appearing none the worse for wear less than half a mile away.

References

↑ "Association of Leading Visitor Attractions". Alva.org.uk. Retrieved 2016-02-09.

External links

Coordinates: 55°51′4″N 4°14′14″W / 55.85111°N 4.23722°W / 55.85111; -4.23722

Art galleries and museums in Glasgow

Art Galleries	Gallery of Modern Art Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery Burrell Collection McLellan Galleries Pollok House

Museums	Glasgow Museum of Transport Glasgow Science Centre St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art People's Palace Provand's Lordship Scotland Street School Museum Scottish Football Museum The Lighthouse Riverside Museum Tenement House

See also: Glasgow art & culture

Museums and Art Galleries of Scotland

National Museums of Scotland	National Museum of Scotland National Museum of Costume National Museum of Flight National Museum of Rural Life National Museums Collection Centre National War Museum

National Galleries of Scotland	Dean Gallery Duff House Paxton House Royal Scottish Academy Building Scottish National Gallery Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Art galleries and collections	Aberdeen Art Gallery Burrell Collection Dick Institute Dundee Contemporary Arts Fruitmarket Gallery Gallery of Modern Art Georgian House Gracefield Arts Centre Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery Inverness Museum and Art Gallery Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum McManus Galleries McLellan Galleries Montrose Museum Perth Museum and Art Gallery Pier Arts Centre Stirling Smith Museum and Art Gallery Queen's Gallery Talbot Rice Gallery Tramway

History	Alloa Tower Broughty Castle Museum David Livingstone Centre Museum of Childhood Provand's Lordship St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art Surgeons' Hall Writers' Museum

Local history	Aberdeenshire Farming Museum Angus Folk Museum Biggar Museum Trust Campbeltown Heritage Centre Dumfries Museum Fife Folk Museum Gladstone's Land Highland Folk Museum Highland Museum of Childhood Inveraray Jail John Knox House King's Museum Montrose Museum Museum of Ayrshire Country Life and Costume Museum of Edinburgh Museum of the University of St Andrews New Lanark Newhaven Heritage Museum North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre People's Palace People's Story Museum Provost Skene's House Scotland Street School Museum Signal Tower Museum St Andrews Museum Stewartry Museum The Tolbooth

Maritime	Aberdeen Maritime Museum Discovery Point HMS Unicorn Museum of Scottish Lighthouses Scottish Fisheries Museum Scottish Maritime Museum

Military	Black Watch Museum Gordon Highlanders Museum Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre

Natural history	Dick Institute Marischal Museum McManus Galleries

Science and Industry	Mills Observatory Museum of the University of St Andrews Museum on the Mound Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum Scotland’s Jute Museum @ Verdant Works Summerlee, Museum of Scottish Industrial Life

Sport	British Golf Museum Scottish Football Museum

Transport	Dundee Museum of Transport Glasgow Museum of Transport Grampian Transport Museum Myreton Motor Museum Scottish Industrial Railway Centre Scottish Railway Museum

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