Remembering when Glaswegians could sail a gondola down the River Kelvin

With its ‘switchback’ railway, water chute and Indian Theatre, it had many appealing amusements and although its aim was partly educational - with pavilions from countries such as Japan and France - it also boasted a grand concert hall and gondola rides on the River Kelvin.

The city was proud of its booming global trade links, and role in innovations in science, industry and art.

This led to a series of four large-scale exhibitions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries all aimed at showcasing achievements in Glasgow and nationwide. The first in 1888, the International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry, had been a huge triumph with more than five million visitors, and there was an eagerness to replicate the event. The opening of the new Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum seemed just the perfect occasion for the city to host another exhibition, especially as the Kelvingrove was financed by the profits of the first one.

It’s clear from the meeting minutes of the Glasgow International Exhibition Association, now held at the City Archives, that the 1901 exhibition was considerably influenced by its predecessor. It too was held in Kelvingrove Park and many of its buildings, such as the white and gold Industrial Hall by artist and architect James Miller, were based on oriental architecture (interestingly, Charles Rennie Mackintosh submitted a design but lost out to Miller).

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In addition to the Industrial Hall topped by a golden angel with an electric torch symbolising light, there was the Machinery Hall, housing impressive locomotives as well as ironwork designs from Walter Macfarlane & Co; the Concert Hall with its large Venetian-style dome; and Kelvingrove too, which housed fine art works from artists such as Turner, Rodin and Edward Burne-Jones, recently acquired or loaned for the exhibition.

The 1901 exhibition also included pavilions from other countries, from the opulent Russian display (said to cost the Tsar £30,000) to Canada’s water chute where boats zoomed down into the River Kelvin.

The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 may have muted the opening of the exhibition, with hopes of King Edward attending dashed. Instead the King’s daughter, the Duchess of Fife, opened the exhibition. It ran for eight months from May to November 1901 and attracted 11.5 million visitors.

The Industrial Hall, Concert Hall and other temporary structures were taken down, but Kelvingrove and its wonderful collections, Kelvingrove Park and James Miller’s Port Sunlight Cottages remain, all popular and inspiring legacies of the famous event.