Finnieston Crane
Stobcross Quay Congress Road, G3 8QT
It's just a crane, but this epic landmark is integral to the story of Glasgow and the psyche of its people. So much so that it is now a Category A Listed structure, a real symbol of the city that firmly links the past to the present. In sheer engineering terms it is vastly impressive, first hauled into action in 1932 by the banks of the River Clyde during the city’s shipbuilding heyday. Once the largest crane in Europe, its dimensions are jaw-dropping, a metal leviathan that rises 50.24m (165 ft) with a 77 m (253 ft) cantilever jib. It can heft up a whopping 175 tonnes, which was handy as it was built to haul up railway locomotives from the quayside and swing them aboard ships, which then took Glasgwegian engineering to all parts of the Brtish Empire and further afield. Today it stands idle but most tours of the city take it in and tourists circle below taking snaps of this Glaswegian icon.
