ARCHITECT Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson is one of Glasgow’s most famous sons, well known for, in particular, the Caledonia Road Church in the Gorbals and the Egyptian Halls on Union Street.
But he is also responsible for one magnificent civic structure in the city, the B-listed Sixty Steps in the west end.
Built on the site of the original Queen Margaret Bridge, known locally as Walker’s Bridge in honour of the man who built it, John Ewing Walker, in 1870, this sweeping staircase and its fine retaining wall was originally lit by ornate cast-iron lamps from the Saracen Foundry in Possilpark.
At the top of the wall is a pretty park and a repaired pillared outlook point, known as the Belle Vue, which provides lovely views down to the River Kelvin valley.
The original plan for the site was to transform it into an elegant area for new homes, which Greek Thomson accomplished in style.
Today, the Sixty Steps charitable trust hopes to fully restore the staircase, the park and the viewpoint to their former glory.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel