Bellahouston Park

About

Bellahouston Park is a public park in the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland, Between the areas of Craigton, Dumbreck, Ibrox and Mosspark covering an area of 71 hectares (180 acres).The main part of Bellahouston Park was acquired by the City in 1895 for the sum of £50,000 and opened to the public in 1896. Three years later, the city's second municipal golf course was established at Bellahouston following the success of the course at Alexandra Park the park was extended in 1901 by the addition of a part of Dumbreck Lands purchased for the sum of £2,824 from Sir John Maxwell, Bart. a further addition was made in 1903 by including the lands of Ibroxhill at a cost of £40,222 from which commanding views of the city are available. in 1938 the famous Empire exhibition was held at the park. the site took only fourteen months to build and the cost of admission was one shilling. a mammoth attendance of 12 .5 million was recorded and despite this, the exhibition made a loss of £130,000. today, of the 200 palaces and pavilions that were built for the exhibition only the Palace of Art remains - it now serves as a Sports Excellence Centre. a stone Peace Cairn built for the exhibition is still visible from the rock garden. in 1996 Charles Rennie Mackintosh's House for an Art Lover was completed from original drawings of 1901 and now serves as contemporary centre of excellence for the visual arts. It is based around Bella hill created for the great empire exhibition 1938. It has commanding views over most of the city, exceptions being views to the east that are obscured by trees and to the south by hills in Mosspark. Notable views include that of Ballageich (Balagich) hill, rising to 1,084 feet (330 m) on the southern horizon in East Renfrewshire.

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