The Clydesdale Bank Anniversary Tower dominated the skyline during the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988, particularly at night. Like Tait's Tower at the Empire Exhibition fifty years earlier, it was the focal point for the site, and like its predecessor it did not survive to become a permanent feature of the Glasgow cityscape.
The Clydesdale Bank sponsored the tower to the tune of £500,000. The name commemorated the 150th anniversary of the bank's foundation in Glasgow in 1838.
A special feature of the 240 feet high tower was a glass ring-shaped gondola which rose and revolved at the same time, allowing extensive views over the city and beyond. Some visitors found this unsettling, including Princess Diana on opening day.
Reference: Mitchell Library, GC f607.3441443 GLA
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
banks, Clydesdale Bank, Clydesdale Bank Anniversary Tower, Empire Exhibition, exhibitions, Glasgow Garden Festival, gondolas, towers