Glasgow Made the Clyde and the Clyde Made Glasgow

Shipbuilding on the River Clyde

Local mythology holds that by World War I, half of the world’s ships were being built in Glasgow. Names like the Lusitania and the Queen Elizabeth II still haunt the city’s psyche. Glasgow’s River Clyde has been a center for shipbuilding for hundreds of years, possibly stretching back as early as the 15th century. It was during the 19th century, however, that shipbuilding became a substantial source of commerce for the city. The Industrial Revolution, the use of steel, and the advent of the  steam engine (especially the compound steam engine invented in Glasgow) drove the expansion of shipbuilding here. At its peak, the industry employed 70,000 workers at the Govan and the Fairfield Shipyards that lined the Clydebank. After World War II, which saw the Clyde heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe, the shipping industry went into decline. By the 1960s, Fairfield had collapsed and with it the surrounding area. Govan, with a population of 98,000 prior to the war, has only 25,000 residents today. The city hopes to breathe new life into the banks of the Clyde with massive apartment towers, the Norman Foster-designed auditorium (nicknamed The Armadillo), a 12,000-seat performance hall, and the new BBC Scotland headquarters. However, getting to the river is problematic. Highways and rail lines inhibit connections back into the city’s neighborhoods. Glasgow could learn lessons from Portland on how to revitalize its waterfront and make it a magnet for public activity.

The Armadillo, the Hydro, Finnieston Crane and Squinty Bridge