2023

SD3036 : Watching the Blackpool Air Show

taken 1 year ago, near to Blackpool, England

 Watching the Blackpool Air Show
Watching the Blackpool Air Show

Crowds are gathered on and around the North Pier to watch the Red Arrows flying over. The Coastguard in attendance.
Blackpool North Pier

The oldest and longest of Blackpool's piers, North Pier was designed by Eugenius Birch and opened on May 21st 1863. A landing/fishing jetty was added in 1866 and extended in 1869, bringing the pier's length to 1410 feet.

The pier was damaged in 1867 by wreckage from Nelson's former flagship, the "Foudroyant", which had been moored off the pier for an exhibition. In the 1870s, the pier-head was enlarged and the Indian Pavilion and bandstand were built. There were further ship collisions with the pier in 1892 and 1897

The deck was widened in 1896, and shops and an arcade were added to the shoreward end in 1903. The Indian Pavilion was destroyed by fire in 1921, but a new pavilion was built, unfortunately also being destroyed by fire in 1938. However, a new 1500 seat theatre was completed in 1939. Also in the 1930s, the bandstand became the Carousel bar and Venetian sun lounge.

In the 1960s, amusements and the Merrie England bar were opened. In the 1980s, £350,000 was spent rebuilding the entrance in Victorian style, and in 1991, a 35 foot carousel and a pier tramway were installed. The pier suffered further, severe storm damage in December 1997, severing the jetty from the main structure and leaving the pier theatre perilously close to the edge.

In April 2011, the pier was sold by Six Piers Ltd to Blackpool family firm, Sedgwick's. Mr Sedgwick vowed to restore the pier to its former Victorian look, bring back its tram and remove the entrance tolls. The theatre was renovated and relaunched in November 2011.

A storm in December 2013 severely damaged the sun lounge, but it was repaired the following year.

Wikipedia: LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Gerald England and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Coastal People, Events Air, Sky, Weather Place: Blackpool other tags: North Pier Pier Blackpool Airshow Spectators Crowds Coastguard Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Blackpool North Pier [222] · Pier Show [28] · North Pier during the Blackpool Air Show [17] Title Clusters: · Watching the Blackpool Air Show [3] ·
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SD3036, 1096 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Gerald England   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 13 August, 2023   (more nearby)
Submitted
Thursday, 17 August, 2023
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 3040 3641 [10m precision]
WGS84: 53:49.1572N 3:3.5213W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 3055 3641
View Direction
WEST (about 270 degrees)
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Image Type (about): geograph 
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