Crowds stood in the rain to mark the occasion at Glasgow Green on Sunday, April 14, with St Francis’ Pipe Band and St Dennis Children’s Choir.
They sang and played instruments before the doors were officially shut at 5pm and will now not reopen to the public again until 2027.
The refurbishment will also include the Winter Gardens which have been closed since 2018 and are completely destroyed.
We previously reported how the cost of the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens project is £35.9 million, with Glasgow City Council already committing millions to the project.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is also donating £850,000 to help transform the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens.
It comes after the museum and adjoining glasshouses in the East End were closed in January 2019 after structural engineers ruled they were no longer safe.
Now new investments will focus on making the building more accessible and improving its environmental sustainability.
A spokesperson from the Friends of People’s Palace Winter Gardens and Glasgow Green said: “We are delighted that the first stage of the funding has been awarded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund for this much-loved building, which is of significant importance to Glasgow’s culture and heritage.
“We are delighted at the prospect of the Winter Gardens reopening. We hope to work closely with Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life and other stakeholders involved in the restoration of this important civic resource – telling the social history of our city and to be able to sit once again and enjoy a cuppa in the beautiful Winter Gardens.”
They recalled a story about actor David Hayman and his connection to the building where he said: “I remember as a 10-year-old boy being taken by my mum to the People’s Palace.
“Wow, we’re going to a palace!
“It turned out to be a treasure trove. I was taken on a journey about our great city told through the stories of its people with humanity and humour, tragedy and joy, its politics and trade unions, the people’s history of Glasgow.
“It is a thing of beauty, we must preserve it for future generations.”
The People’s Palace is home to collections documenting the city’s social history from 1750 to the present day.
The “new” attraction will be, according to Glasgow Life, “a dynamic community-led museum and flexible space” which will follow its “successful community-centred approach, as used at The Burrell Collection, and local people will shape all aspects of the refurbishment, including collecting, interpretation and programming. The revitalised People’s Palace and Winter Gardens will be a place by people, for people, with people”.
