The Empire Exhibition, Glasgow, 1938
Posted in Architecture, Art Deco, Empire Exhibition, Scotland, 1938, Exhibitions, Glasgow at 09:01 on 3 May 2013
The zenith of Art Deco (or of Moderne if you must) in Scotland came in 1938 with the Empire Exhibition, Scotland, held in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, and which opened 75 years ago today on 3/5/1938.
Its signature building was the Tower of Empire (seen in the above photograph taken from the link) designed by Thomas Tait whose houses at Silver End I featured eighteen months ago. The tower was erected on the hill in Bellahouston Park and dominated the Exhibition.
Tait was in overall charge of the architecture for the Exhibition – some of whose buildings made extensive use of the new construction material, asbestos cement! – and designed many of the buildings himself.
My favourite is the Atlantic Restaurant, a ship-shaped building cresting the wave of the hill on which it was set, two postcards of which I reproduce below.
Sadly almost none of the buildings remain. (It was a condition of such events that their locations were restored to their original condition soon afterwards. Moreover shortly afterwards the country was involved in the Second World War and conserving architecture became a minor consideration. The Exhibition itself came to an end in the midst of the Munich Crisis.)
Only the Palace of Arts is still standing in Bellahouston Park itself. It was transformed into a sports pavilion. The Palace of Engineering was taken down and re-erected at Prestwick Airport and can still be found there. The South Africa building was in Dutch Barn style rather than deco or moderne and later became a staff canteen at ICI Ardeer. All the rest were demolished.
Think of what a tourist attraction Tait’s Tower, as it was known, could have been! Glasgow’s answer to Eiffel.
As it is, the main tourist draw in the Park today is the House for an Art Lover built to designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh whose buildings are a sort of bridge between the freer, flowing style of Art Nouveau and the more rigid Art Deco.
You may have noticed that I have added a new category to my list especially for this Exhibition. There is so much more I could, and will, post.
Tags: 1938, Architecture, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, asbestos cement, Atlantic Restaurant, Bellahouston Park, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Eiffel, Empire Exhibition, Glasgow, House for an Art Lover, Munich Crisis, Palace of Arts, Palace of Engineering, Prestwick Airport, Scotland, Silver End, Silver End Essex, Tait's Tower, Thomas Tait, Tower of Empire, World War 2, WW2, WWII
Roy Humble
4 May 2013 at 21:09
Very much enjoyed your recollections and pictures from the 1938 Empire Exhibition. I remember clearly the great day I spent there with my father. You might like to read my uncle Ben’s wonderful description from that Exhibition* which I was able to include in his biography,
“The Tower of Empire”, page 85 in “The Voice of the Hills – the story of Ben Humble MBE” (The Pentland Press 1995)
Roy Humble (another Son of the Rock)
jackdeighton
4 May 2013 at 22:17
Thanks, Roy.
The 1938 Exhibition is one of my main interests. Great to hear from someone who attended (and a Son of the Rock.) Sadly I’m too young to have seen it for myself. It must have been fantastic, in both senses of that word.
I will be posting more about the Exhibition from time to time.
Roy Humble
6 May 2013 at 11:26
Jack,
I had another later connection with the Exhibition. Despite his total deafness, Ben Humble was joint organiser of the first Mountain Safety Exhibition held at the Palace of Art, Bellahouston in September 1968. I was working in Dumfries at that time and he asked me to come up for the opening. As a memorial to the Fort William surgeon Donald Duff that Exhibition later took a mobile form, promoting the importance of mountain safety and mountain rescue in meetings across Scotland and in England. You mention the current use of the Bellahouston building as a Sports Pavilion. Could you tell me any more about such use? Is this regular or occasional, and have other significant meetings or sporting occasions been held there?
I wonder if you happened to see the story about Ben in Bill Heaney’s “Notebook’ (“Ben heard the voice of the hills”, Lennox issue of February 15th). Although I may be biased being a close relative, if a contest was ever to be held for the most notable Dumbartonian of the 20th Century Ben Humble would have to be a candidate for any short leet. More than 36 years after his death I am still contacted about him on a regular basis.
Best wishes
Roy
jackdeighton
6 May 2013 at 18:58
Thanks Roy,
Are you by any chance connected to Humble the solicitor? It was the first thing the good lady thought of when I mentioned you had commented.
According to Wikipedia (under Bellahouston Park) the Palace of Arts is now the Palace of Art Sports for Excellence Centre, whatever that means.
I haven’t seen that article about Ben. I’ll look it up.
Roy Humble
6 May 2013 at 19:59
My grandfather (Robert Humble) was Manager of Dennystown Forge, where his brother David worked under him in the hammer shop, making their respective and fairly numerous children first cousins, including my father and James Humble Snr who began the law practice with an office in Church St. Young Jimmy Humble, my contemporary and second cousin, took over from his Dad and with a partner later moved that office to the High Street. Jimmy Snr was a Boghead regular for many years, easily recognizable due to his gait following a WW I leg amputation. My Dad was The Sons’ doctor from mid to late 1920s until his death in 1953. Ben set down a marvellous history of the older generation of the Dumbarton Humbles, typed out (very badly) in the few days preceding his sudden death from a stroke in 1977.
Roy
jackdeighton
6 May 2013 at 20:59
Thanks for this interesting stuff, Roy.
Coincidentally my father also worked at Dennystown Forge. He was Company Secretary there in the 1960s (till 1977.) He took over as Secretary after Mr McColl.
My grandfather Jack Deighton – whose name I took for writing purposes – was Minister at St Augustine’s between the wars and up till the late 40s.
Katherine
17 February 2016 at 09:51
Hello Jack, I read your post with interest, loved all the information you have gathered on the Empire exhibition of 1938 at Belahouston , Glasgow. A wonderful collection. I am researching to write about South Africa in different empire exhibitions (1911, 1924/5, 1936 and 1938 . Do you have any objection to my cross referencing to your collection? I would like to use a couple of the post cards you have preserved. thank you in anticipation. I write to the South African Heritage Portal.. I am interested in the fact that the South African Pavilion did survive as the Staff canteen at the Ardeer site of the Nobel Company explosive works. I have researched the 1936 exhibition in Johannesburg as unlike the Tait Tower the Johannesburg Tower of Light survived and is a much treasured Heritage site in Johannesburg . there are also several other connections too. We have a large picture of the Belahouston exhibition on our wall in our building of the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand. I can try to photograph this for you.
jackdeighton
17 February 2016 at 21:39
Katherine,
Thank you for looking in to my blog and for your kind words.
By all means cross refer to me and use the postcards.
It’s interesting that the South African Pavilions at Wembley 1924-5 and at Bellahouston 1938 were so similar in design.
I knew there was an Empire Exhibition in Johannesburg in 1936 and have a few items of memorabilia from it but sadly no pictures of the Tower of Light.
A photograph of the picture on the wall of your building at the School of Architecture and Planning would be a delight.
Please note my blog may be down for a few days for maintenance from 17/2/2016.
Best wishes.
Tandy Pickering
19 February 2018 at 21:59
Hello Jack,
My husband is an avid collector of all things North East Coast Exhibition 1929 and is doing a Masters ( post retirement ) looking at artefact biographies from exhibitions. He has been looking at the lead cast orangutan family, currently housed at Edinburgh zoo. Do you know where it was situated within the Scottish Empire Exhibition, 1938?
Kind regards, Tandy.
jackdeighton
20 February 2018 at 22:52
Tandy,
Hi.
The North East Coast Exhibition is another of my interests! I have quite a large collection of memorabilia of that one as well as of both Empire Exhibitions the various White City Exhibitions of 1908-14 plus the Festival of Britain.
I’m afraid I don’t recall reading of the lead cast orangutan family.
Sorry I can’t be of more help. The man I could have asked – who knew everything there was to know about the 1938 exhibition – is sadly no longer with us.
Thanks for looking in and commenting.
Tandy Pickering
21 February 2018 at 22:15
It was called the ‘jungle family’ and sculpted by Beno Elkan, cast by Stoner and Saunders of London and displayed as their exhibit…..it currently resides at Edinburgh Zoo, but whilst we know it was at the Scottish Empire Exhibition we can’t find its actual display position….the Glasgow University 3D model doesn’t acknowledge it’s existence, but perhaps another of your followers will know more!
We live near Newcastle and the blooming house is full of the NE Coast memorabilia as hubby’s undergrad dissertation was on this….If you want to share knowledge feel free to use the email provided and I’ll put you in contact with each other.
Tandy.
jackdeighton
22 February 2018 at 19:38
Tandy, Hi.
I just googled jungle family Empire Exhibition 1938 and found a photograph (https://canmore.org.uk/collection/887449) from which it looks like the sculpture stood in the open air and not inside a Pavilion.
Looking at the photograph, I have seen it before but didn’t make the connection. I’ll try to find out more.