Since the 1800s, Blackpool has been Britain’s most popular resort. With entertainment at the heart of our beloved Blackpool, our seaside town has been synonymous with fun-filled and action-packed adventures.
At 500 we show you a small part of it as we celebrate four of the town’s glittering venues that have been a mainstay of Blackpool for 125 years each, each with their own film. So grab a deckchair, relax, and enjoy our enviable history.
Blackpool Tower – The Blackpool Tower has stood tall over the Fylde Coast for over 125 years, opening to the world on 14th May 1894, with Sir John Bickerstaffe, a former mayor of Blackpool at the helm. With a building full of attractions at its base, The Blackpool Tower was soon coined as ‘Wonderland of the World’!
The Blackpool Tower is one of the most iconic buildings in the UK and one of Britain’s best-loved landmarks. It houses five amazing attractions, perfect for a fun-packed day for all to enjoy.
The Blackpool Tower Ballroom is world-famous for its unique sprung dance floor and spectacular architecture and remains to this day a destination for dance fans from across the globe.
Did you know:
- There are more than five million bricks in the Tower Buildings
- Each of the four legs of the Tower rest on concrete foundations 35 feet square and 12 feet deep
- It takes 15,000 yards of carpet to cover the floor of the Blackpool Tower Building
- The Tower alone contains 2,493 tons of steel and 93 tons of cast iron. The building at the base contains 985 tons of steel and 259 tons of cast iron
- The height to the top of the flagpole is 518 feet 9 inches
- It takes seven years to paint The Blackpool Tower structure from top to bottom. This time includes the replacement of any corroded steelwork
- The Blackpool Tower Circus is positioned at the base of the Tower between its four legs
- Long before he became famous as a Hollywood film star, the comedian, W.C.Fields, spent a season before the First World War at the Circus as a juggler
- When flooded, the Circus ring can hold up to 42,000 gallons of water to a depth of 4 feet 6 inches
- The Ballroom floor measures 120 feet by 102 feet. It comprises 30,602 separate blocks of mahogany, oak and walnut
- The present Ballroom was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1899
- The names of 16 composers are to be found around the Ballroom
Winter Gardens including the Empress Ballroom – celebrating its 140th anniversary in 2018, the Empress Ballroom – one of the world’s finest dance venues – was added in 1896 and designed by brothers John and William Henry Littlewood. It has played host to famous acts such as The Rolling Stones, The Stone Roses, Oasis, The Prodigy and the International Blackpool Dance Festival, and has a 3,500 capacity.
Did you know:
- Opened in 1878, it is a Grade II* listed building
- The Winter Gardens Company bought the site in 1875 for £28,000
- The Empress Ballroom was built in 1896
- The 3,000-seater Opera House is one of the largest theatres in the United Kingdom
- The original Oper House, completed in 1889, at a cost of £9,098 was designed by the theatre architect Frank Matcham.
- The first Royal Variety Performance to be held outside London was staged at the Opera House in 1955
- The Empress Ballroom was requisitioned by the Admiralty in 1918 for military use during World War I
- The Baronial Hall, added in 1931, is designed in the guise of a medieval castle.
- As part of the third phase of construction, from 1928-29 onward, the previous Big Wheel built in 1896 was removed
The Grand Theatre – Designed by Frank Matcham, the leading theatre architect of the day, The Grand Theatre opened in 1894, celebrating 125years in 2019. Throughout 2019, the theatre saw a range of star-studded events, record audience figures and played host to some of the UK’s top West End plays. The theatre also took on a major fundraising campaign to help fund repair work to the iconic Grade II* listed building.
Did you know:
- Work on The Grand Theatre began in September 1893. And it took just nine months to build, costing £20,000.
- The oval ceiling at Blackpool Grand Theatre is opulently decorated with painted panels of composers by Messrs Binns of Halifax.
- On the opening night of The Grand Theatre the programmes were printed on perfumed silk.
- Charlie the ghost is said to haunt the Upper Circle, after throwing himself off the edge in late Victorian times. He was in love with a ballerina but she wasn’t in love with him.
- In 2006, the Grand was named the United Kingdom’s National Theatre of Variety
- The Grand Theatre is one of Britain’s premier heritage theatres. Listed Grade II*, this Matcham theatre is in the top 8 per cent of all listed buildings in England
Blackpool Pleasure Beach – When William George Bean purchased a 42-acre plot of land in Blackpool in1896, he had a vision.
He wanted to build an American-style theme park, a place “to make adults feel like children again and to inspire gaiety of a primarily innocent character.” Alderman Bean could never have envisaged that millions of people, both young and would experience unbridled happiness from this fantastical idea.
Even less, that in 2021 his creation would celebrate its 125th birthday and still be bringing excitement into the lives of every person stepping through the gates to the magical wonderland that is Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Did you know:
- The oldest Pleasure Beach ride is The Flying Machines. Thrilling the crowds since 1904!
- The park was founded in 1896 by W. G. Bean and has been family owned and operated since its inception.
- When it opened in 1994, The Big One was the tallest, fastest rollercoaster in the world. Currently, the ride holds the record as the tallest rollercoaster in the United Kingdom, standing at 235ft.
- The Grand National is a wooden racing coaster with the added sophistication of a Möbius loop system magically transferring the trains from one side of the station to the other.
- Valhalla, voted the best water ride in the world, was one of the largest and most expensive indoor dark rides when it opened in 2000.
- The Hot Ice show has been running since 1936
- Pleasure Beach is alleged to be haunted by several ghosts, the most well-known and reported ghost story involves the Ghost Train ride, which is supposedly haunted by the spirit of a former ride operator named “Cloggy”.
- The music video for Simply Red’s 1995 UK #1 hit “Fairground” was filmed at Blackpool Pleasure Beach
