GLASGOW'S famous Barrowland dance hall opened on Christmas Eve 1934 and became one of the city's top places for night entertainment.
It became popular with couples who wanted to get up close in the days of waltzes and foxtrots and was just as full when the music changed to rock 'n' roll in the mid-1950s.
But its days looked
numbered in 1958 when the ballroom was wrecked by a fire in the early hours of August 19. Thousands of gallons of water were poured into the venue but about 45 minutes after the firemen began their rescue work the roof collapsed.
About 40 people in an adjoining building had to flee in their nightclothes before the firefighters got the flames under control.
It was believed the blaze began in a tearoom and it and the ballroom suffered damage estimated at £100,000.
Ballroom owner Sam McIver was determined the Gallowgate venue would be restored and it was re-opened on Christmas Eve 1960.
The neon sign remains a Glasgow icon nearly 40 years later and the Barrowland now has a reputation as one of the UK's top rock venues.
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