It was designed by the City Engineer, Alexander B. McDonald, and decorated with sculptures representing Art, Science, Shipbuilding, Industry and Progress by William Kellock Brown.

Current displays (as of March 2009) include glimpses of typical Glasgow history such as life in a "single end" (a one-room tenement home),[4] going to "The Steamie" (the communal laundry), nights out at "The Dancing" in the famous Barrowland Ballroom and trips "Doon The Watter" (down the Firth of Clyde) on steamers such as the Waverley.

In the 1990s, the building was closed for almost two years to allow restoration work to be carried out, with the re-opening being timed to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of its first opening in 1898; this is recorded on a plaque mounted just inside the main entrance.

In January 2019 both the People's Palace and Winter Gardens closed again, with rare plants moved to alternative homes[6] after the site was ruled structurally unsafe.

[12] Glasgow Life's troubles were exacerbated by lost revenue during the Covid-19 pandemic in Scotland led to concerns the venue, along with others, would never reopen, which in turn sparked protests.

During the 1980s, a cat called Smudge gained local fame when she became a member of the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union, after NALGO refused her admission as a blue collar worker.