Part One

WILSON’S ZOO
Housed in the former St. Peter’s Church at 68-72 Oswald Street, 'Wilson's Zoo' remained a popular attraction well into the late 1950’s. On ground floor level of the zoo was an aquarium, whilst the upper level contained a variety of caged animals, lions, tigers, monkeys, alligators, parrots etc. In such a confined space the smell from the animals left a lot to be desired. However, it was a popular place to visit, after all, where else could you enter the jungle and come face to face with wild animals and all for only sixpence (2.5p)?

CINEMAS
Throughout the 1940-50s Glasgow was affectionately known as either the 'Dancing City' or 'Cinema City', there being at that time over 200 dance venues and 130 cinemas to choose from. Locally, a good evening’s dancing could be enjoyed at Bresland’s Dance Hall in Stobcross Street, which was run by a husband and wife partnership. A popular family outing was a visit to the cinema, or the 'pictures,  as they were affectionately called. Programmes normally ran Monday to Wednesday, with a change of feature Thursday to Saturday. Cinemas were not normally open on a Sunday.

There were two main cinemas in Anderston; ‘The Gaiety’ at 623 Argyle Street near Anderston Cross, and ‘The Kelvin' at the Finnieston end of Argyle Street. Both cinemas hosted children's matinees each Saturday afternoon between the hours of 1-4pm. The main feature was usually an action film, Tarzan; Jungle Jim; Superman or a Western. The supporting programme normally comprised of a couple of cartoons and serial to ensure you would be back the following week.

Originally opened as the Tivoli Music Hall in 1899, ‘The Gaiety’ was remodelled during the 1920’s, and re-opened as ‘The New Gaiety’. In the aftermath of the fire that destroyed the Saint Andrew’s Halls, in 1963, ‘The Gaiety’ reverted to its original function as a theatre after it was refurbished to serve as the ‘Glasgow Concert Hall’. The Gaiety was finally demolished in 1968.

The Kelvin Cinema, at 1071 Argyle Street, had a particularly interesting feature inside the main auditorium, to the left of the screen, above the exit, was a scale model of a Spanish hacienda. Above the right hand exit was the depiction of a Turkish-style mosque. With the advent of television, cinemas went out of fashion and the Kelvin was converted into a sporting arena, hosting boxing and wrestling matches. The property is now a popular Indian restaurant operating under the title of the ‘Crème de la Crème’.

PUBLIC HOUSES
Public Houses were all too abundant in Anderston. As a general rule, each tenement block had at least one pub. Whilst most of the  pubs were very basic affairs, with poor lighting and sawdust covering the floors, there were the odd exceptions to the rule. ‘The Prince of Wales Bar’ that stood on Cranston Street adjacent to St. Marks Lancefield Church, was a bright cream coloured building with a verse painted on the gable-end of the property declaring ‘Be ye Prince or be ye beggar, there’s aye a welcome frae curly Macgregor’. Some of the pubs revelled in such names as The Venture Inn; Why Not?; ‘The Welcome Inn; The Kettledrum; and The Wee Man’s.

One pub that, momentarily at any rate, achieved some
fame was, Ruxton’s Bar at 21 Elderslie Street. At the
time the tenement property was due to be demolished,
the unique interior of the Bar was dismantled and
exported to America, where it would be used in the film
industry.

Whilst most pubs were required to close at 9.30pm,
closing times in Anderston could often be variable. The
aforementioned Ruxton’s Bar, for example, closed early
each Thursday evening at 7.30pm, to allow the owner to
attend his Masonic Lodge meetings. The Prince of
Wales, locked their doors at 9.30pm, and often business
continued under the guise of a ‘private function’ until the
police arrived, usually around midnight, to conclude
festivities, and perhaps partake of a wee refreshment.

It was no mere accident there was an array of pubs in
Anderston, they were there to capitalise on business from
the huge workforce employed in the many engineering
workshops and factories. It is interesting to note that the
pubs disappeared along with most of the population and
the industries. Prior to redevelopment there were forty
Public Houses’ situated throughout Anderston, which
meant a pub on just about every block, today pubs are
only to be found on the periphery of the area.

Around Anderston

The Old Scots Kirk, 68-72 Oswald Street c1900. Immediately to the left stood St.Peters Established Church.

End of Part one

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