Coatbridge – Bank Street Basin Artworks

Bank Street Basin was once a part of the Monklands Canal. It has since been transformed as a public space that the public can walk through and enjoy some art works, complimented with furniture, lighting and planting.

Most of the artworks were created by artist Gordon Muir and celebrate Coatbridge’s Industrial heritage.

To see more work by Gordon Muir click HERE.

To visit Gordon Muir’s Facebook, click HERE.

Beat The Goalie

This is a multi-coloured panel with a silhouette of a ‘Goalie’ cut out of the centre. The cartoon goalie was inspired by a character from ‘The Dandy’. The colours are taken from the contemporary and historical strips of Coatbridge’s football teams. The plaque refers to the footballer Jock Stein.

Crackle Fizz Bang

This sculpture depicts a stick of gelignite. Miners used sticks of gelignite to blast fireclay out of the ground to make bricks to line iron furnaces.

Three Heads

On the upper part of each steel panel is a representation of a head of a coal miner, an iron worker, and a steel worker, referencing the local industries. Underneath each head are etched words that describe some of the job titles in that industry.

Lees Snowballs

These are a collection of sculptures representing ‘Chocolate Snowballs’, a confection produced by the Lees Foods factory in Coatbridge, who also make macaroon bars and tablet.

Giant Bath Plug

A streel sculpture representing a bath plug that has been pulled and leaving an empty hole, possibly as a comical reference to show that this area was once filled with water that has been drained away.