| An Introduction to Blackpool Tower |
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Blackpool's famous tower was built at a time when many
English resorts were building towers. It was modelled on the Eiffel Tower at Paris but the
strong winds blowing from the Irish Sea required a structure capable of withstanding all that
nature could throw at it.
It was decided that the structure would be based around a building, unlike the French tower,
so that it could continue to take money in rainy weather. The legs of the Tower
were encased in thick concrete so that it would not collapse even if fire wrecked the building. |
| Although only half the size of the Parisian tower at 519 feet, Blackpool Tower
dominates the skyline. The foundation stone was laid on 29 September 1891 by Sir Matthew Ridley
M.P., whose voice was recorded on a phonograph and placed beneath the foundation stone in a metal
container along with newspapers and other momentoes of the day.
The Tower was built over the site of an aquarium which continued to be open during
construction until the Tower itself was finished, upon which the original buildings were
demolished and the present one built around the legs of the Tower.
The tanks of the aquarium were incorporated into the new building and can still be seen to
this day on the ground floor. The tanks date from 1874, although the fish have been replaced a
few times...
The Tower and buildings opened to the public on May 14 1894. |
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Apart from the aquarium, which makes the Tower well worth visiting just for this
single attraction, the Tower also originally housed a small zoo near the top of the building.
It did indeed house a lion in what now would be seen as an unacceptably small cage, but whether
he ever really did eat young Albert Ramsbottom after being poked in the ear by a stick with a
horse's head handle, as the famous monologue relates, is rather doubtful!
The zoo vanished many years ago, being replaced by an indoor garden complete with waterfalls
and fountains, then later by an adventure playground for the Tower's younger visitors.
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| The sumptuous ballroom still exists, despite the best efforts of fire! The mighty Wurlitzer
organ rises from beneath the stage with a triumphant crescendo of sound as the organist breaks
into "Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside"!
Reginald Dixon was resident organist for many
years and recorded many 78 records on the organ. More recently, Phil Kelsall has gained
himself a faithful following of admirers, playing for dancers on the sprung ballroom floor. |
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The Tower Circus seen here during a performance in the 1970s. This was taken
during the finale of the circus, when the ring had been flooded and water fountains added to
the spectacle.
The taking up of the heavy matting and the sweeping of the ring, which had to take place
before the ring floor was lowered and water flooded in, took several minutes and to keep the
audience's attention the whole procedure would be turned into a race against the clock with
the circus hands taking a bow once the ring was ready for the water show. |
| The circus bowed to pressure from animal activists and now presents a non-animal circus
twice daily. Thrills, stunts and comedy help make up for the lack of horses and elephants. |
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