Tower Town
Sat. 24th Feb., 2001

I spent another weekend in the North-west capital of fun and frolics . Blackpool grew from a fishing village to a centre for holidays in the nineteenth century.

The resort was a Victorian invention, and they built on a vast scale. Three cast iron piers, a 518 ft. (160 m) tower, four railway stations, a tram system, and numerous solid brick and stone buildings.

During the last half of the nineteenth century the air quality and squalor of the industrial towns made the bracing fresh air of Blackpool attractive, and the arrival of the railway in 1846 made it accessible and affordable.

Here is a view of Blackpool Central Station in 1908, pictured from the tower. The lines brought holiday trains right to the middle of the action. The covered platforms are at the bottom, whilst the open ones for train cleaning and relief trains, are to the left. Central Drive runs alongside. The wide railway tracks cut through virgin land, the housing and gasworks came later.

Below is the same scene today. The station has gone and the track bed is now a fast road link and car park.

Down at ground level on Central Drive that low wall opposite is all that now remains of the railway structure.

The fish restaurant is curiously named; a "Mickey Finn" is slang for a sleeping potion slipped into a drink to render a person insensible.

The station closed in 1964, victim to the motor car. The main building was used as a bingo hall until it was demolished with others nearby in 1973 to make way for the "Coral Island" amusement centre.

A little further along Central Drive is the 1913 Central Picture Palace. The candy stripe brickwork and the Dutch profile make this an attractive and adventurous place, whilst the vaguely Ionian columns and arched entrance bestow dignity.

The magic of Blackpool's attractions over the years is that there is always something for everyone, and an abiding temptation to be adventurous.

Back at the Tower, as well as a circus the grand Tower Ballroom beckons those who enjoy dancing or just want to listen to the fabulous Wurlitzer organ.

This ballroom was gutted by fire in 1956. The decoration was lovingly recreated at a cost of £500,000 (£20 million in today's terms). The ceiling has hand painted murals and is 120 feet (37 metres) in length.

The resort's best known entertainer, Reginald Dixon, played the organ for over forty years, finally retiring in 1970.

Evening variety performances were held here, as well as those at the pier theatres.

The famous organ rises and falls through the stage trap. A complex arrangement of electric cables and pneumatic tubes connect the console with the bank of organ pipes and percussion effects hiding behind the stage backdrop.

Huge vents at the top of the proscenium allow the sound out and clever internal baffles and the natural resonance of the hall make this the most spectacular sound in the town.

Looking from the tower to the north east Blackpool North rail station is clearly visible. The original location for the station was where that Wilkinson's supermarket now stands on the junction of Dickson Road and Talbot Road. A little further along Dickson Road is an example of Harry Weedon's Odeon cinemas, with a corner tower.

This vast emporium is now up for sale, the cinema now occupying low rise multi screen new premises near the tower.

On the opposite side of the supermarket is Talbot Road bus station, for local services and expresses during the winter. The summer long distance coaches use Lonsdale Road, on the old Central rail track bed, during the summer.

The Central Library and Art Gallery, Abingdon Street, was opened in 1911 and was partly funded by Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish born American multi millionaire philanthropist.

Not only were visitors expected to enjoy themselves and spend money, but it was hoped that they would indulge in more improving pursuits.

In the left distance of this view is the Baptist Tabernacle, with exhortations to the godly.

So, this haven for hedonistic holidays is still a popular centre for fun seekers of the north. The building and renewal, started in the 1830s continues apace, to ring the changes and maintain the appeal.