It was a dark and dampish night when we decided to walk into the city centre to have a look at Glasgow’s Christmas lights. Below is George Square which has played a part in Glasgow’s more recent history as it was the location of mass protests in 1919. It is the only time that tanks were deployed in Britain. You can read about it here.
It has probably been about 15 years since I had seen George Square all lit up at Christmas, so I must admit that it was a wee bit of a shock to see a big wheel and those flying swing things actually in the square, but I don’t suppose there is anywhere else they could go.
I’m pretty sure that they used to have a mini ice rink set up in George Square years ago but thinking back to my childhood memories of the place at Christmas it’s really only the nativity scene which sticks out in my mind. I don’t know why that should be as I know that I always found it to be a bit tacky looking. Anyway the fairground attractions seem to have taken over.
The war memorial is just visible on the right hand side of the photo above. And there it is again in the photo below, it’s the massive light coloured stone monument. The building which is lit up behind it is the Glasgow City Chambers, a really beautiful building. At the time it was built there was consternation over the cost of it all as it is marble lined but as they said at the time – the marble meant that they would never have to pay out any money to have it re-decorated, it just needs a wash down every now and again.
You can see images of the Glasgow City Chambers here.
Below is the central portion of the City Chambers.
If you want to see some daylight photos of George Square have a look here.
A bit of the inside of the City Chambers was used in the film of Edith Wharton’s book House of Mirth and more recently Glasgow has been used as a stand in for San Francisco. You can read about some of the films which have been made in Glasgow here.
A most colorful and informative post!
Peggy,
You won’t be there for Christmas but there will be plenty of other interesting things to do there when you do get to Glasgow!
I must go and see Christmas in Glasgow! Edinburgh has a Christmas market too and a huge wheel that I had a ride on last year! Fairground attractions galore, including the icerink. Loved it!
Evee,
I must get across to Edinburgh. I went up on the big wheel a few years ago – a great view! I had a brief walk around the market but didn’t buy anything.
The City Chambers are really beautiful. đŸ™‚ That’s funny that Glasgow has been a stand-in for San Francisco and Philadelphia. I wish I’d known before watching World War Z that the Philly scenes were actually Glasgow. It might not have changed anything. I’ve visited both cities before (Philly multiple times), but am not sufficiently familiar to have the authority to definitively point out what’s clearly not Philadelphian about the scenes.
Christy,
I’ve never been to the US at all and I doubt if I ever will go there as I’m waiting for that Star Trek technology to beam me there! I suppose the buildings in both cities were built around about the same time so might have the same feel about them.