The sixties were a defining era for the world with it being one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in history with Glasgow not being immune to the decade of counterculture.
It was a decade where The Beatles shot to fame, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon and Martin Luther King Jr made historic “I Have a Dream” speech to an audience on 250,000 people. The contrast to that was that the US increased their military authority in Vietnam, President John F. Kennedy was assasinated and there was the threat of nuclear war between the US and Soviet Union after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
As Glasgow looked on, the city was starting to rapidly change in the post-war years with many still suffering from poverty. Tenements were starting to become a thing of the past as families saw high rising living as the new way forward. One major event during the sixties for the city was when Glasgow said goodbye to their beloved tram cars with their final day in operation being on September 4, 1962.
The following 24 pictures aim to show the changing landscape of the city through Glaswegian’s public transport, buildings and streets in a defining decade.
1. Gardner Street
A view up Gardner Street in Partick in 1969. | Glasgow City Archives
2. Gorbals
Children playing beside modern tower blocks in the Gorbals. The tenements which had formerly occupied the site were among the worst slums in Britain and there had been campaigns to redevelop the area for many years before work finally began in the late fifties. | Getty Images
3. Glasgow Central
Crowds outside Glasgow Central railway station in July 1966. Photo: Unknown
4. Argyle Street
Neon signs light up Argyle Street in the early 1960s as trams head along the street. Photo: Unknown