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Regeneration
of the Glasgow
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 The
Clyde’s shipbuilding industries, ports and docks played a major
part in the development of Glasgow from the early 1800s up to the
mid 1940s.
Regeneration of Glasgow - Factsheet
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James Watt,
one of the pioneers of the steam engine, supervised the channelling
of nineteen miles of the Clyde to enable ships to reach the docks
at Glasgow. The transformation of the river heralded Glasgow's
'golden age' of shipbuilding and heavy industry. The Clyde yards
built ships of all sizes, helping to put Glasgow on the international
map as the 'second city of the Empire' in the 19th century. John
Brown's yard in Clydebank built three of the world's most famous
liners: the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Elizabeth
II (QE2). From 1870 until the start of World War I, Glasgow produced
an estimated 20 per cent of the world's ships.
- Glasgow
also built around a quarter of all the locomotives in use anywhere
in the world. The locomotives were exported by ship all over
the world, and a massive crane, able to lift 175 tons, was built
in 1931 on Stobcross Quay for the job of loading them onto ships.
This crane, once known as the Stobcross Crane, is now known as
the Finnieston Crane. It's still in use today and is one of
Glasgow's best know landmarks.
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In 1987,
the area now known as Pacific Quay, on the south bank of the
river near Govan, was redeveloped for the Glasgow Garden Festival.
The old docks were cleared and the ground was planted with
thousands of shrubs, trees and plants. The top soil was obtained
from dredging operations on the river.
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Bell's
Bridge, linking the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
and its car parks on the north bank of the Clyde, was built
to be the major thoroughfare for pedestrians going to the
Garden Festival. Engineers sank piles into the river  bed
to support this new swing bridge which had to allow ships
to pass to and from the upper reaches of the river. The Garden
Festival was a major success and when it closed in September
1988 over three million people had visited the site. The
SECC and the new Armadillo, inspired by the Sydney Opera House,
were built on land reclaimed from the former Queen's Dock.
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The whole
area is once again a centre of regeneration in the 21st century.
Pacific Quay is home to the Glasgow Science Centre, the first
iMax cinema in Scotland, and 大象传媒 Scotland will relocate there
in 2004.
Follow the link below for more information on the many interesting
places to visit on Clydeside today.
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