It was likened to Glasgow's very own 'Eiffel Tower' when it was completed as part of the purpose-built Glasgow Science Centre on the River Clyde back in 2001.
But having been plagued by problems from the outset, the £10m Glasgow Tower has become nothing more than the city's 'most expensive white elephant'.
And now a lost pamphlet on the tower has revealed the other designs that were submitted as part of the competition to design a new millenium tower for Glasgow - alongside the fact that it was originally meant to be located in St Enoch Square.
The find was made by Michael Dougall, an architect/associate with Pollokshields based architectural practice O'DonnelBrown.
As Michael notes, the 1992 design competition attracted over 350 entries from all over Europe, with judges including Sir Norman Foster - who designed the SEC Armadillo.
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The pamphlet notes that the significant interest in the 'Glasgow landmark for the millenium' design competition 'successfully confirmed the city's international reputation'.
Submissions were welcomed that for a tower that would recognise 'Glasgow's dynamic past' and become 'a symbol of the city's confidence and aspirations for the coming century'.
With St Enoch Square chosen as the location due to it's 'potential as a dynamic urban space in the city centre' akin to that of 'New York's Rockefeller Plaza and Paris's Place Georges Pompidou'.
Incredibly, some of the the designs submitted included a building that bears more than a passing resemblance to London's world famous The Shard skyscraper.
While another would have seen a full-size replica of the Finnieston Crane built, complete with sky walkway at the top and huge multimedia display screen.
And a further entry submitted for two identical towers side by side in contrasting materials which would have towered over the area around St Enoch Square.
Interestingly, the decision to move the location of the tower from St Enoch Square to the Science Centre area was labelled as the root cause for the fact that the tower has been besieged by problems since opening - with architects pointing to the fact that its location on the Clyde has left it much more exposed to the elements.
Fascinating stuff!
Article first published in September 2020
