One of Glasgow’s most iconic buildings is the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, a symbol of the West End nestled between the park, River Kelvin and Glasgow University.
The original museum opened in 1876 in Kelvingrove House, a nearby mansion which was originally home to the city’s Lord Provost Patrick Colquhoun.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum as we know it today opened in 1901 for the Glasgow International Exhibition. Its design was inspired by the Spanish Baroque style but was kept in with local traditions of using red sandstone.
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During the exhibition, the beloved organ was installed in the concert hall. When the exhibition ended, a councillor is said to have urged their bosses to keep it, as without it "the art gallery would be a body without a soul". Today, the daily recitals are one of the most popular attractions.
Anyone who has visited the museum or even walked by may notice something unusual: that the back entrance is far grander than the front.
This has created the urban myth that the building was accidentally built back to front and that the architect was so disappointed with the final product that he jumped to his death from one of the towers.
This is untrue, and it was in fact intended for the most beautiful entrance to face the park.
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After a major multi-million-pound refurbishment, the museum was reopened by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2006, and the following year it recorded 2.23 million visitors, making Kelvingrove the most visited tourist location in the country outside of London.
Today, you can explore 22 galleries of artwork, taxidermy animals and artefacts. Highlights include an Ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, Salvador Dali’s Christ of Saint John on the Cross and the famous Floating Heads by Sophie Cave.
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