Although Blackpool is not an old town, it has a wealth of fascinating
buildings that represent its growth from a small village on the
Lancashire coast to a centre for tourism. Visitors from nearby Liverpool
and Manchester came by stagecoach in the eighteenth century but when the
railways were built in the 1840s large numbers of holidaymakers were
transported to the town and the population grew rapidly to cater for
them. The famous promenade was developed, and piers, boarding houses,
hotels, theatres, public houses, churches and a tramway system were
built. Blackpool boomed and added bold buildings such as the Winter
Gardens and Blackpool Tower. Twentieth-century Blackpool was Britain's
most popular holiday resort, not least for the Pleasure Beach, and
although numbers have declined in recent years, millions still visit
every year. Blackpool in 50 Buildings explores the history of this
fascinating Lancashire seaside resort through a selection of its most
interesting buildings and structures, showing the changes that have
taken place over the years. Alongside the landmark Blackpool Tower and
its Tower Ballroom and Circus, the Winter Gardens and its Opera House
and Pleasure Beach, the book shows the wealth of other buildings across
Blackpool that have contributed to its history, including the Town Hall,
North Pier, churches, schools, pubs, clubs, cinemas, theatres, hotels
and a windmill. This book will appeal to all those who live in Blackpool
or who have visited it over the years.
