In Glasgow Green sits the People’s Palace, currently closed to the public due to maintenance works - with an uncertain future.
It’s not the first time the museum has encountered problems, back in 1979 the People’s Palace was looking at a massive rodent problem.
In came pest control - in the form of Smudge the cat, also known as Sister Smudge.
She was a purr-fect match, and quickly became a fixture at the museum - where they began to sell Smudge merchandise.
Margery Clinton, a Glasgow artist who had been featured in the Tate, the Victoria, and the Royal Museum of Scotland, produced 50 ceramic replicas of the charismatic kitty.
The pieces flew off the shelves, and Margery made 500 more.
T-shirts, postcards, mugs, and fridge magnets were also sold with Smudges face embellished.
Her fame spread further than just Glasgow, with an article in the Washington Post dedicated to Smudge as well as making it into the 100 Most Influential Cats book.
Sister Smudge also bravely went where no cat had gone before - she joined a union.
After being denied entry by the National and Local Government Officers’ Association, she became a full member of the General Municipal and Boilermakers Trade Union.
Catastrophe (pun intended) came to Glasgow in 1987, when Smudge disappeared for a number of weeks.
After many efforts, including a plea from the Lord Provost of Glasgow, she was found safely and returned to the People’s Palace.
The kitty was so well loved, that she was the face of several campaigns over the years; including Save The Glasgow Vet School in 1989, and Paws Off Glasgow Green in 1990.
As a trade union member she also became the first recorded picket cat, joining striking museum staff outside Kelvingrove in 1989.
Glasgow residents have been clawing at their memories of Sister Smudge on the Lost Glasgow Facebook page.
One user said: “I remember her, my Mum and Dad took us here on our weekend walks.”
Another local commented: “Loved our smudge, or should I say no so wee.
“Often caught a glimpse of Smudge sunbathing in the Winter Gardens.”
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Smudge was on hand to celebrate the 90th birthday of the People’s Palace in 1988 - and was soon proclaimed Kitty of Culture when Glasgow earned European City of Culture in 1990.
It was this year that she would leave the People’s Palace for good, moving to Stirling with museum curator Elspeth King.
When Elspeth became director at the Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum, Smudge got a new role in pest control at the same venue.
The beloved cat is said to have died at home after a long illness in 2000, making her almost 30 years old.
In recent times, campaigners for the People’s Palace and Winter Garden’s have claimed the buildings have fallen to a state of disrepair.
Campaigners have said that as the only museum in Glasgow made for, and based on, it’s place in the city should be fought for.
Speaking to STV news earlier this year, historian Ewan Gibbs argued: “It’s also very important as a celebration of Glasgow’s working class history.
“If it was to close, and it may close down, it means that a really important part of the story of Glasgow and the experiences of ordinary people and also the struggle for social and economic justice and democracy is being written out of the city’s history - or at least not being observed.”
Perhaps the helping hand - or indeed paw - that’s needed for the campaign, is Sister Smudge.
