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The McManus Museum & Art Gallery in
Albert Square close to Dundee centre, built
from 1867.
The Museum can be visited all year free of
charge. Postcode: DD1 1DA
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The image top is of the McManus Museum and
Art Gallery from the south with a Statue of
Robert Burns in front. Large Image.
There is also a statue of Queen Victoria on the
west side, and one of Oor Wullie on
the east side.
The Building itself is one of the most
interesting designs in Scotland to view. The
Museum contents mainly cover the History of
Dundee through Shipbuilding, Whaling in the
Arctic, Jute Mills, Timex Watch and Computer
manufacturing, and Publishing with D.C. Thomson
in Dundee producing iconic comics such as the
Beano, Topper, and Beezer.
McManus History
1861 - Prince Albert,
husband of Queen Victoria died aged 42. This
led to people in Dundee wanting to construct an
impressive Building in his honour.
The ground on which the Building was
constructed is boggy, so it had to be
underpinned with large wooden beams. A large
Tower in the original design had to be replaced
by a smaller Spire.
1867 - the Building was opened under the
name Albert Institute, mainly for use as a
Public Library.
1873 - the Building was enlarged to hold a
Museum and Art Gallery.
1880 - a Statue of the poet Robert Burns
was erected at the south side of the Building.
Burns only visited Dundee once, so such an
expensive Memorial showed just how popular he
was in Scotland during that time.
1899 - a large bronze Statue of Queen
Victoria was unveiled on the west side of the
Building by her son Duke of Connaught. He was
also visiting Dundee to open a Hospice.
1959 - the Building was taken over by the
City then renamed the McManus in honour of the
Lord Provost, Maurice McManus.
1976 - Cracks were found in the Building due
to rotten timbers used in construction.
1979 - Concrete and Cross Beams were used to
stop the Subsidence of the Building.
2005 - the McManus was closed to the public
for a £7 million redevelopment.
2010 - the McManus was re-opened to the
public.
2016 - an Oor Wullie Statue was erected on
the east side of the McManus becoming a popular
photo spot.
2018 - a D.C. Thomson exhibition was set up
at the McManus covering their Comics such as
the Beano. This has proved extremely popular,
so many of the exhibits may be retained?
Top McManus Exhibits by Earliest
4000BC - artifacts of Hunter Gatherers that
roamed the Dundee area
800BC - artifacts from an Iron Age hill fort
on Dundee Law
332BC - Egyptian artifacts
485 - Log Boat found in the River Tay
600s - early Pictish carved stones
1555 - Astrolabe used by Sailors to Navigate
the high seas, oldest known one of its type in
the world.
1700s - 1900s - Dundee Shipbuilding for
Steamers and Whale Ships.
1750s - Whaling Ship Models with many built
in Dundee, Harpoons, Whale Skeleton, and items
brought back from the Native People of the
Arctic.
1820 - many Jute Mills in Dundee
converting this vegetable fibre into twine for
manufacturing hard wearing Cloth for sacks,
curtains, chair coverings, carpets, rugs, and
hessian cloth. Whale Oil was used to treat the
fabric.
1921 - the Painting by Joseph Gray of the
Dundee Advertiser showing his fellow soldiers
after the bloody battle of Neuve Chapelle
during World War One.
Other top paintings include: the earliest
painting of a Football Match
by Alexander Carse, work by the Glasgow Boys,
and Dante Gabriel Rossetti's 'Dante's Dream on
the Day of the Death of Beatrice'.
1942 - Winkie the
heroic Pigeon that saved many lives during
World War Two.
1900s - Watches, Computers and Computer
Games as Dundee had a Timex factory from the
1950s to 1990s that produced Watches,
Computers, and innovative small TVs. Dundee
also produced some of the earliest home
Computer Games such as Lemmings.
1950s - today - D.C. Thomson publishers of
Dundee for the production of comics such as the
Beano, Topper, and
Beezer.
The Beano top characters are: Bash Street
Kids, Billy Whizz, Dennis the Menace, Minnie
the Minx, Numskulls, Roger the Dodger, and
Tricky Dicky.
The Topper and Beezer top characters are:
Big Uggy, Desert Island Dick, Ghastly Manor,
Jimmy Jinx, and Keyhole Kate.
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