Finnieston


Glasgow City

A district of Glasgow, Finnieston is located on the north bank of the River Clyde, 1¼ miles (2 km) west of the city centre. This was once an industrial settlement, associated with Finnieston Quay and its warehouses, but has been rejuvenated with the construction of hotels and leisure facilities.

Between Finnieston and Stobcross Quay is the Finnieston Crane, a prominent landmark on the Glasgow skyline, built in 1932 and standing 53.5m (175 feet) in height. Its purpose was to install boilers and engines in ships. Today it lies next to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. The Exhibition Centre Railway Station, on the Argyle Line, lies at the centre of Finnieston.

The first streets were laid out in 1768 by Matthew Orr, whose uncle had acquired the estate in 1745. Orr named the area after Rev. John Finnie, who had been his tutor, and built Finnieston House in 1770. This is now lost beneath the Clydeside Expressway.

A ferry crossing the Clyde was established here in 1846. The Finnieston Tunnel took the railway under the river from 1886, while the Clyde Harbour Tunnel followed in 1895. The latter is now closed but its former entrance is marked by the North Rotunda. The river is now crossed here by the Clyde Arc, which opened in 2006.


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