Blackpool is a seaside resort town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately 27 miles (43 km) north of Liverpool and 14 miles (23 km) west of Preston. It is the main settlement in the borough of the same name. The population of Blackpool at the 2021 census was 141,000, a drop of 1,100 from the 2011 census.
Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it is 518 feet tall and is the 125th-tallest freestanding tower in the world. Blackpool Tower is also the common name for the Tower Buildings, an entertainment complex in a red-brick three-storey block that comprises the tower, Tower Circus, the Tower Ballroom, and roof gardens, which was designated a Grade I listed building in 1973.
Wilmslow Road is a major road in Manchester, England, running from Parrs Wood northwards to Rusholme. There it becomes Oxford Road and the name changes again to Oxford Street when it crosses the River Medlock and reaches the city centre.
The London Coliseum is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre of Varieties, it was designed by the architect Frank Matcham for the impresario Oswald Stoll. Their ambition was to build the largest and finest music hall, described as the "people's palace of entertainment" of its age.
Francis Matcham was an English architect who specialised in the design of theatres and music halls. He worked extensively in London, predominantly under Moss Empires for whom he designed the Hippodrome in 1900, Hackney Empire (1901), Coliseum (1903) and Palladium (1910). His last major commission before retirement was the Victoria Palace (1911) for the variety magnate Alfred Butt. During his 40-year career, Matcham was responsible for the design and construction of over 90 theatres and the redesign and refurbishment of a further 80 throughout the United Kingdom.
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was demolished in 1936. The name was also adopted by many other British music hall theatres located elsewhere; in Bradford, in Hull and in Glasgow etc. The name comes from association with the Moorish splendour of the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain.
The Theatre Royal is the oldest theatre in Glasgow and the longest running in Scotland. Located at 282 Hope Street, its front door was originally round the corner in Cowcaddens Street. It currently accommodates 1,541 people and is owned by Scottish Opera. The theatre opened in 1867, adopting the name Theatre Royal two years later. It is also the birthplace of Howard & Wyndham Ltd, owners and managers of theatres in Scotland and England until the 1970s, created by its chairman Baillie Michael Simons in 1895. It was Simons who as a cultural entrepreneur of his day also promoted the building of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and Glasgow's International Exhibitions of 1888 and 1901.
New Brighton Tower was a steel lattice observation tower at New Brighton in the town of Wallasey, Cheshire, England. It stood 567 feet (173 m) high, and was the tallest building in Great Britain when it opened some time between 1898 and 1900. Neglected during the First World War and requiring renovation the owners could not afford, dismantling of the tower began in 1919, and the metal was sold for scrap. The building at its base, housing the Tower Ballroom, continued its use until damaged by fire in 1969.
The Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is a historic commercial building, now a hotel, at the corner of Oxford Street and Whitworth Street in Manchester, England. The building was originally constructed in segments from 1891 to 1932 as the Refuge Assurance Building.
Blackpool Grand Theatre is a theatre in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. Since 2006, it has also been known as the National Theatre of Variety. It is a Grade II* Listed Building.
The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment complex in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which includes a theatre, ballroom and conference facilities. Opened in 1878, it is a Grade II* listed building, operated by Blackpool Entertainment Company Limited on behalf of Blackpool Council, which purchased the property from Leisure Parcs Ltd as part of a £40 million deal in 2010.
The Syndicate was a superclub and music venue in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It was the largest nightclub in North West England, and claimed to be the largest nightclub in the United Kingdom. The club opened in December 2002 and had at the time of closing, three levels of floor space, three segmented rooms, and a VIP floor. It had a capacity of 5,000 if including the club 'status', which was part of the building but was advertised as a second nightclub in the earlier years. Otherwise, the capacity was 4,500, with a 2,200 capacity in the downstairs section, and a 2,300 capacity in the higher levels. The higher floors were tiered, with the VIP section being at the top of the tier overlooking a balcony section below which itself overlooked the dancefloor. The dance floor area had a revolving dance floor in the middle of it. This whole upper section of floors was a single open space and was named the 'Dance Arena'.
The Cardiff Empire Theatre was a theatre, later converted to a cinema, located in the city of Cardiff, Wales.
St Anne's Pier is a Victorian era pleasure pier in the English seaside resort of St Anne's-on-the-Sea, Lancashire. It lies on the estuary of the River Ribble. The pier, designed by Alfred Dowson, was completed in 1885 and was one of the earliest public buildings in St Anne's, a 19th-century planned town. The pier was originally intended to be a sedate promenading venue for the resort's visitors, but attractions were later added. Changes made to the estuary channels to improve access to Preston Dock left the pier on dry land and ended its steamer services to Blackpool and Liverpool.
The New Theatre Royal is a Victorian Grade II* listed theatre in the heart of Portsmouth, England, with a capacity of 667. The theatre building was constructed in 1854 as Landport Hall. It was converted to a theatre two years later. It was rebuilt in 1884 by Charles J. Phipps and again in 1900 by Frank Matcham.
Maxwell and Tuke was an architectural practice in Northwest England, founded in 1857 by James Maxwell in Bury. In 1865 Maxwell was joined in the practice by Charles Tuke, who became a partner two years later. The practice moved its main office to Manchester in 1884. Frank, son of James Maxwell, joined the practice in the later 1880s and became a partner. The two senior partners both died in 1893, and Frank Maxwell continued the practice, maintaining its name as Maxwell and Tuke.
The Alhambra is a theatre situated on the West End promenade in the English seaside resort of Morecambe, Lancashire. Opened in 1901 as the Alhambra Palace, it took its name, though not its style, from the famous Moorish original in Granada, Spain. The building was in continuous use, with a range of entertainment and social uses, until 1970 when a fire gutted the interior. Following extensive refurbishment the theatre reopened in 1973 as The Inn on the Bay before renaming itself The Carleton Club, becoming a major events venue and one of the great Northern soul dance clubs. After closing in 2016, it reopened it the same year as a multi-purpose venue with capacity up to 1,100. The theatre was the location where Laurence Olivier shot his iconic 1960 film version of John Osborne’s The Entertainer.
