Postcard showing the Kibble Palace in the Botanic Gardens, off Queen Margaret Drive, 1907. The glass structure consisting of a central dome and three wings is named after John Kibble, the son of a wealthy industrialist. He had a huge conservatory built at his home in Coulport during the 1860s at a cost of £15,000 and in 1871 offered to re-erect it in Queen's Park. The Corporation failed to take up the offer immediately and Kibble, frustrated at the delay, offered it instead to the Royal Botanic Institution of Glasgow which re-erected the structure (with additions and extensions) in the Botanic Gardens in 1872-1873. It soon became a popular West End venue for concerts and meetings.
In 1891 the Burgh of Hillhead was annexed by Glasgow and the Botanic Gardens and Kibble Palace passed into the care of the city in November that year.
Reference: Mitchell Library, GC Postcards
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
Botanic Gardens, botany, conservatories, domes, James Boyd & Sons, Kibble Palace, parks, postcards, public parks, Royal Botanic Institution of Glasgow