Famous Glasgow venue that narrowly avoided grim war role

The famous venue, which will celebrate its centenary in 2027, is now run collaboratively by Glasgow Life, the University of Glasgow and the National Library of Scotland.

Visitors can choose between Glasgow Club Kelvin Hall, the Hunterian Collections Study Centre or the Moving Image Archive, which are all inside the building.

The present Kelvin Hall is, in fact, the second by that name. The first opened in 1918 but closed prematurely in July 1925 when it was destroyed by fire. 

The first Kelvin Hall was in ruins after the fire (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

The fire began in the Kelvin Hall itself, which was mostly of timber construction but, due to prevailing wind conditions, it spread to several surrounding tenements in Argyle Street and Blantyre Street which were also damaged. 

Glasgow Corporation was quick to commission a new building, this one designed by the City Engineer, Thomas Somers.

It was built of red sandstone, like its near neighbour and fellow architectural landmark, the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery.

The Kelvin Hall’s long frontage was designed with a tower at either end, each topped with a bronze globe atop a lantern symbolising its universal purpose.

The second Kelvin Hall (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

The new Kelvin Hall was opened in July 1927 by King George and Queen Mary who were in Glasgow to open the King George V Bridge. This Kelvin Hall was to perform the same function as its namesake: to showcase large events.

And showcase them it did. Many major exhibitions, conferences and other events were held at the Kelvin Hall over the years including Housing and Health, the Scottish Kennel Club Show, the Scottish Dairy Show, the Scottish Motor Show and the International Police Tattoo in 1973.

It was also the regular venue for the Modern Homes Exhibition, which first appeared at the Hall in 1947 and annually thereafter in October until the 1990s.

Inside the Kelvin Hall (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

Each year’s exhibition provided displays of architectural plans, models and full-size units for people to explore the latest in interior design and domestic technology. The pictured unit is Glasgow Corporation’s Housing stand at the exhibition of 1956. Over time, the exhibition became known as the Living Ideas Exhibition and later as the Ideal Homes Exhibition.

Kelvin Hall also provided one of the venues for the national Festival of Britain during the summer of 1951. While the Festival’s focal place was London, several events were held elsewhere.

Glasgow hosted an Industrial Power exhibition which was opened by Princess Elizabeth after ill health prevented her father, King George VI, from attending. We hold the catalogue for this exhibition among our collections at the City Archives.

The circus at Kelvin Hall was an annual pilgrimage for many (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

Of course, for many people, the Kelvin Hall was the site of their annual pilgrimage to enjoy the delights of the carnival and circus held there every December and January. This event was a feature of the first Kelvin Hall and survived the fire of 1925 to continue in the second.

We hold several promotional posters for the carnival and circus in our collections, including this one of a clown inviting revellers to attend during 1976 and 1977. 

War gave the Kelvin Hall another purpose. During the Second World War, it was converted to become a barrage balloon factory. These balloons were an important part of anti-aircraft defences and were tethered to the ground at strategic points to prevent dive-bomber attacks.

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However, at the outset of war, it had originally been considered for another, grimmer, function. Glasgow Corporation officials, anticipating large-scale air raid casualties, surveyed possible sites for mass mortuaries.

The Kelvin Hall, with its cavernous interior, was a logical choice and a portion of it was fitted out with cubicles.

But when other mortuary premises were established, first at Crossmyloof Ice Rink and then Lomond Street, it paved the way for Kelvin Hall’s transformation into the barrage balloon factory.

The year of 1987 marked another change in purpose for the Kelvin Hall. It was in this year that it was split into two self-contained units.

One became the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena, while the other housed the Museum of Transport with its distinctive signage (white lettering underscored by a thick red line) welcoming visitors to the site. Large-scale exhibitions and the carnival were moved to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.

It was the end of an era for this most versatile of venues.