In the frame: Glasgow's changing face to be shown as never before as images go online

Standing in the middle of Glasgow's bustling Buchanan Street on a Saturday afternoon, it is difficult to imagine a time before buskers with their amplifiers, traffic jams and loud music blaring from chain shops.

However, a set of rarely-seen images of Glasgow are about to be released showing the city in days gone by, many of which portray buildings or cityscapes which are now lost forever, including a barely-recognisable engraving of Glasgow's busiest shopping street.

The images will go online on Tuesday as part of the fifth Historic Glasgow event, which celebrates the city's local history. Around 1,000 images - including around 200 which have been rarely seen by the public - from various Glasgow museums and the Mitchell Library's archives will be uploaded over the coming months.

Dating from the 19th century, the image of Buchanan Street shows just a handful of people on the cobbled street, which is dominated by modest two- and three-storey buildings. A horse pulls a cart past St George's Church, one of the few buildings in the image still recognisable today. St Enoch's Church - which once stood in St Enoch's Square, but was demolished in 1925 - can be seen in the distance.

Other images include a spectacular 1898 painting showing the rather precarious-looking old bridge over the River Kelvin, with the new one - forming part of Great Western Road - being constructed above it. An engraving of Royal Exchange Square in the centre of the city shows that the grand public space was as busy in the 19th century as it is now (although the famous statue of the Duke of Wellington, usually topped off with a jaunty traffic cone, is not yet resident) while an 18th century view of Glasgow Cathedral shows it looking like some great country estate, surrounded by countryside.

The newly released images don't just tell the stories of Glasgow's buildings, but also of the people who once occupied them. One striking painting shows members of the Trades and Guilds, swords drawn as they attempt to defend Glasgow Cathedral against spoliation by reformers in 1570.Another shows the 18th century Scottish tobacco lord, John Glassford with his extensive family.

Baillie Catherine McMaster, a member of the Historic Glasgow working group, which set up the Historic Glasgow event, said: "The 2010 Historic Glasgow event will once again give everyone interested in exploring Glasgow's history the opportunity to find out more on the subject.

"The new Historic Glasgow website will reveal even more of the hidden history of the city. I am sure everyone will be interested to see the various rarely seen images of a changing Glasgow over the centuries. They give a fascinating insight into how this great city of ours has evolved."

This year, a new Historic Glasgow website will go live, which, in addition to the paintings and drawings of the city, will feature information on Glasgow's history and archaeology, with dedicated sections for children and their teachers who want to learn more about the city's past.

• For details, visit www.historicglasgow.com