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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

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@venny this sounds like an ideal lockdown/closed season project! I have looked at a few bits before, but always tricky because there isn't a definitive source, stuff just changes without much fanfare, or worse is contradicted by various sources.

Below cobbled together from newspapers, various bits in my collection, plus Century of Fun, Riding on Rainbows and Blackpool Pleasure Beach - More than just an Amusement Park.

Chuck rocks at the below all, might not be right.

Building Timeline
1937 (Nov) - Demolition begins on old casino, dating from 1913
March 1938 - Construction accident on new casino kills four and injures two, as first floor collapses
1939 - Emberton casino opens, designed by Joseph Emberton
1977 - Second floor added by Keith Ingham
197? - Monorail station built within the casino
19?? - Monorail rerouted around the casino / station relocated next to Reel
1978 - Renamed Wonderful World
1978 or 9 - Crystal Elevator added
1979 - Viva shows begin
1988 - Mystique replaces Viva, runs until 2006
1996 - Painted pink for park centenary
1998 - relaunched as 'The Casino', rather than 'Wonderful World'

On the below, I will try and group by area of the building, occupied by function/use. Will update if people have things to add / correct.

Basement
Billiards Room | 1937 - 1963(?)
Diamond Lil's | 1964 - ?

Gaslight Bar | 1964 - 1997(?)
Pasaje Del Terror | 1998 - present

Carousel Bar | ? - 1997(?)
Horror Bar | 1998 - present

Ground Floor
Savarin Restaurant | 1937 - 1977(?)
Captain's Steak House | 1978(?) - >1986
Fish Inn ? - 2013(?)
Tiger Bills | 16/06/2014 - 2015(?)
Tiger Grill | ? - ?
Beach Grill | 2016(?) - (?)
Costa | 2017 - present

Horseshoe Bar | ? - present (converted to the Horseshoe Show Bar in 1979(?)

Soda Bar | 1937 -
Self Service Restaurant | ? - ?
Beach Cafe | ? - ?
Ticket Centre | ? - ?

1998 - current - Pasaje Del Terror entrance

First Floor
Banqueting Suite | 1937 - ?
Greatest Show on Earth (did the name change over time, before being moved?) | ? - ?
Paradise Room | 1995 - present

Monorail Station | ? - ?

Mezzanine
Jolly Roger Bar | ? - present (closed since ?)
Chairman's Flat | 1937 - present (never publicly accessible, but tours have occurred)
Company Offices | (been changed a lot)

Rooftop / Second Floor (added 1977)
Solarium / Screen -
Calypso Bar - 1977 - 1985
The Attic -1986 - ~2005 (saw later use as 'rooftop lounge'), briefly reopened in 2016.
White Tower Restaurant | 1979 - present (it has been closed to the public for some periods)

Forgot to add, there are a number of Emberton's original drawings for the Casino on this site ... which are interesting, but don't really help with the above -
 
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Greatest Show on Earth was when it was at the Burger King Site...in the Casino it was the Wonderful World Ride I think.
An old colleague used to work in the "Soda Fountain", which became officially the American Cafe, in the early sixties...was always rammed in the rain in the summer holidays.
And I thought you went up stairs to the Gaslight bar, but my recollection is a distant, booze fogged memory.
Sad and probably true.
 
Holy cow Rick, that is one hell of a nerdy list. I know little about the Casino building other than the main build / rebuild dates and that the Greatest Show On Earth ride was once in there. Its a fascinating building though, I would love some kind of tour of it. One of the books has a photo of the Art Deco flat with Mr Funshine on the wall, I guess you’ve seen it

I think the Monorail was extended to go around the Casino building in 1977. Not sure I knew about the building construction fatalities
 
Excellent information Rick!

There are a couple of additional bits which come to mind:

Tiger Bills went bust and was taken over in-house and renamed (slightly cheekily) to Tiger Grill for a brief period before changing again. I think that was for a single season or less.

White Tower celebrated 40 years in 2019, so I deduce it must have opened in 1979. There was a few years in the 2010s where it was only open for private events before reopening to the public at weekends.

The Attic briefly reopened to the public for a single season, in the summer of 2018-ish (will have to check my photos). Saturday’s only unfortunately.

The solarium I believe was added relatively soon after the building first opened and I think there was some sort of planted roof garden which may have existed during this period.

The 70s remodel was completed under the practice of BDP, at the time Building Design Partnership I believe. They added the sombrero units at that time as well. The 20th century society has a relatively damning narrative on this addition.

There were originally kitchens located in the central core on each level, they’re clearly no longer operating at the ground floor, as I assume they sat where Information now is. Apparently they only exist now on Level 1, which begs the question of whether these kitchens now serve the entire buildings needs for the likes of White Tower and the show venues.

Do we have a date for the operation of the kid’s space tower than sits disused at Information I wonder?
 
Rick said:
@venny this sounds like an ideal lockdown/closed season project! I have looked at a few bits before, but always tricky because there isn't a definitive source, stuff just changes without much fanfare, or worse is contradicted by various sources.

Below cobbled together from newspapers, various bits in my collection, plus Century of Fun, Riding on Rainbows and Blackpool Pleasure Beach - More than just an Amusement Park.

Chuck rocks at the below all, might not be right.

Building Timeline
1937 (Nov) - Demolition begins on old casino, dating from 1913
March 1938 - Construction accident on new casino kills four and injures two, as first floor collapses
1939 - Emberton casino opens, designed by Joseph Emberton
1977 - Second floor added by Keith Ingham
197? - Monorail station built within the casino
19?? - Monorail rerouted around the casino / station relocated next to Reel
1978 - Renamed Wonderful World
1978 or 9 - Crystal Elevator added
1979 - Viva shows begin
1988 - Mystique replaces Viva, runs until 2006
1996 - Painted pink for park centenary
1998 - relaunched as 'The Casino', rather than 'Wonderful World'

On the below, I will try and group by area of the building, occupied by function/use. Will update if people have things to add / correct.

Basement
Billiards Room | 1937 - 1963(?)
Diamond Lil's | 1964 - ?

Gaslight Bar | 1964 - 1997(?)
Pasaje Del Terror | 1998 - present

Carousel Bar | ? - 1997(?)
Horror Bar | 1998 - present

Ground Floor
Savarin Restaurant | 1937 - 1977(?)
Captain's Steak House | 1978(?) - >1986
Fish Inn ? - 2013(?)
Tiger Bills | 16/06/2014 - 2015(?)
Tiger Grill | ? - ?
Beach Grill | 2016(?) - (?)
Costa | 2017 - present

Horseshoe Bar | ? - present (converted to the Horseshoe Show Bar in 1979(?)

Soda Bar | 1937 -
Self Service Restaurant | ? - ?
Beach Cafe | ? - ?
Ticket Centre | ? - ?

1998 - current - Pasaje Del Terror entrance

First Floor
Banqueting Suite | 1937 - ?
Greatest Show on Earth (did the name change over time, before being moved?) | ? - ?
Paradise Room | 1995 - present

Monorail Station | ? - ?

Mezzanine
Jolly Roger Bar | ? - present (closed since ?)
Chairman's Flat | 1937 - present (never publicly accessible, but tours have occurred)
Company Offices | (been changed a lot)

Rooftop / Second Floor (added 1977)
Solarium / Screen -
Calypso Bar - 1977 - 1985
The Attic -1986 - ~2005 (saw later use as 'rooftop lounge')
White Tower Restaurant | 1979 - present (it has been closed to the public for some periods)

Forgot to add, there are a number of Emberton's original drawings for the Casino on this site ... which are interesting, but don't really help with the above -
Click to expand...
So was it ever used as a casino?

Sent from my ELS-NX9 using Tapatalk
 
shakey said:
So was it ever used as a casino?
Click to expand...
Not in the way casinos operate today, but there have been table games over time "for entertainment only".

@venny - I think The Attic relaunch was in 2016, but didn't stick around for long. Trying to find some more concrete dates for Tiger Grill etc.
 
Rick said:
Not in the way casinos operate today, but there have been table games over time "for entertainment only".

@venny - I think The Attic relaunch was in 2016, but didn't stick around for long. Trying to find some more concrete dates for Tiger Grill etc.
Click to expand...

The Attic was about a month of Saturday’s in August if I’m remembering correctly. The only people in there were Hot Ice cast and us.

Its opening wasn’t even advertised outside of PB Radio, so no surprise. Good to get back in there though.
 
With it confirmed that Drayton's apocalypse is indeed for sale, I could really see the Pleasure Beach getting it. I think it would fit really well. Big one's turnaround or Ice Blast's site maybe? Would be great for another UK park to snap it up before a foreign one does.
 
Mr Pearse said:
Can’t see any reason why PB would buy it when they already have something similar.
Click to expand...
Take Grona Lund for example, they have loads of tower rides.
Everyone has their own opinion though. :)

I still think an S&S FreeSpin would be a perfect fit for the Pleasure Beach. Compact, fun, cheap, would stand out, and something the general public would love. Plus the Thompsons' have a great relationship with S&S. It's a no-brainer really.
 
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skyscraper said:
Take Grona Lund for example, they have loads of tower rides.
Everyone has their own opinion though. :)
Click to expand...
Compare to PB who are probably skint and probably know investing in a second hand ride that’s over 20 years old wouldn’t be a wise investment. Off the top of my head after infusion I can’t even remember the last time PB had a second hand ride.
 
S&S have condemned Ice Blast and abandoned it to the park. I'm not sure they even have a relationship with them.
 
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I think Amanda sees herself above buying second hand rides. Even Infusion was a ride they bought new and then later relocated.

Wasn't always the case though, plenty of smaller flat rides came and went in the pay per ride days (and I am sure they weren't always new). Different business model then though... but I won't open that can of worms again (for now!)

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I think the only 2nd hand ride the park currently operates (discounting Infusion), is the Golden Gallopers .
 
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