Campaigners are still fighting passionately to save the NGC, which honours 1350 years of glassmaking on Wearside.
It’s become a real landmark for the city, but at less than 30 years old is due to close its doors on July 31, 2026, after owners University of Sunderland announced three years ago that they could no longer afford to repair or fund the upkeep of the major visitor centre and its glassmaking facilities.
You can read the latest from the campaigners here.
In the final week of what’s become a treasured heritage and cultural asset in the city, we’re taking a look back through our hundreds of archive photos from over the decades, from visits from former PM Boris Johnson to dancing on the roof.
Here’s the first in our series of galleries.
1. Centuries of glassmaking on Wearside
National Glass Centre glass blower Kalki Mansel demonstration in 2023 | Sunderland Echo
2. Boris has a go
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson glass blowing before chairing a cabinet meeting at the National Glass Centre in January 2020. | Sunderland Echo
3. Under construction
Echo photographers captured the construction of National Glass Centre in December 1996. | Sunderland Echo
4. An artistic coup
One of the country's greatest sculptors Sir Antony Gormley, who created the Angel of the North, displayed his Field for the British Isles exhibition at the National Glass Centre in 2021. | Sunderland Echo