Bellahouston Park

Bellahouston Park is a public park on the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland, between the areas of Craigton, Dumbreck, Ibrox and Mosspark covering an area of 71 hectares . The main part of Bellahouston Park was acquired by Glasgow Corporation 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 Stirling-Maxwell. A further addition was made in 1903, at a cost of £40,222, by including the lands of Ibroxhill, from which commanding views of the city are available. In 1938 the Empire exhibition was held at the park. The site took only fourteen months to build. The price of admission was one shilling, and a mammoth attendance of 12.5 million was recorded. The exhibition nevertheless 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. It has commanding views over most of the city, although views to the east are obscured by trees, and those to the south by hills in Mosspark. Notable views include that of Ballageich hill, rising to 1,084 feet on the southern horizon in East Renfrewshire.
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