New exhibition shines light on Glasgow's rich heritage

SINCE launching three years ago, the Lost Glasgow Facebook page has gone from obscurity to boasting a global following of 137,000 fans and counting. From tomorrow the team behind the site are leaving their keyboards behind to share their images in person at their first ever exhibition.

Glasgow traffic in Central Station area. Trams and cars causing congestion in the 1950s. Picture: TSPL

Run by history aficionados Norry Wilson, Susan Casey and David McLean, the Lost Glasgow site is among the most popular and well-known city-based social media sites of its kind.

The new exhibition, which is being hosted on Bell Street by Glasgow City Heritage Trust, aims to shine the light on more than 150 years of Glasgow’s photographic heritage and tell the stories behind the images.

Speaking ahead of the launch, Norry revealed the difficulties he faced setting up the exhibition.

“I thought the hard bit would be selecting 50-60 images from the thousands the site has posted – it wasn’t – the hard part was getting permissions and the hi-res images we needed.

“And it’s nice too that the exhibition is in Bell Street – just next door to where my late father, Glasgow architect Norman Wilson ended his working life – in the offices of Strathclyde Regional Council. It was he and my art teacher mother – and the stories they told me - who gave me my love for this great and gallus city. They taught me how to see, how to look beyond the obvious, how to read the city, and its buildings.

“When we look at these pictures, we’re not looking at strangers – we are looking at our forbears, our families, our friends - we are looking at ourselves.”

With images supplied by the descendants of 19th century photographer Thomas Annan, The Glasgow Herald, Evening Times, The Daily Record and The Scotsman, the exhibition is sure to please those with even a fleeting interest in the history of Scotland’s largest city.

Visitors can also interact with the exhibition by rearranging the images and leaving their comments with the content which they connect with the most.

The free exhibition, which is being held at 54 Bell Street, runs from 29 June until 31 August.