Blackpool Tower
|
Blackpool Tower
|
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) |
|||||||||
| Basic data | |||||||||
| Place: |
 Blackpool
|
||||||||
| Unitary Authority: | Blackpool | ||||||||
| Region: | England | ||||||||
| Country: | United Kingdom | ||||||||
| Coordinates: 53 ° 48 ′ 57 ″ N , 3 ° 3 ′ 21 ″ W. | |||||||||
| Use: | VHF broadcasting and observation tower | ||||||||
| Tower data | |||||||||
| Construction time : | 1891-1894 | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Total height : | 158.1 m | ||||||||
| Total mass : | 2,586 t | ||||||||
| Data on the transmission system | |||||||||
| Further data | |||||||||
| Engineers: | Heenan & Froude | ||||||||
| Operator: | Blackpool Council, Merlin Entertainments Group | ||||||||
| Floor space: | 5050 m² | ||||||||
| Opening: | May 14, 1894 | ||||||||
| Viewing platforms: | 116 m, 125 m and 131 m | ||||||||
| Position map | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
The 158 meter high steel lattice tower Blackpool Tower is the landmark of the English coastal city of Blackpool in the county of Lancashire . Inaugurated on May 14, 1894, it was the tallest structure in the United Kingdom at the time of completion . The Eiffel Tower in Paris served as an architectural model. It is open to the public and has three viewing platforms , 116, 125 and 131 meters high. The Blackpool Tower is one of the most important sights in the city as well as in the region of North West England . Because of its great importance, it was included in the UK 's Official Monuments List with the highest classification ("Grade I") . In the base building at the foot of the Blackpool Tower is a traditional circus that opened at the same time as the tower and has been giving regular performances ever since. The tower is visited by around 650,000 tourists annually and has served as a transmitter for an FM radio program and radio services since 1992 .
description
location
The Blackpool Tower stands in the middle between the North and Central Pier on the promenade in close proximity to the Irish Sea . It is easily visible from many parts of the city. At the Blackpool Tower is a stop for the Blackpool tram , the route of which runs along the quayside.
The tower is not free, but is part of a tourist complex. The tower base is fully integrated into a reddish brick building. This massive, Victorian style building with a floor area of 5050 square meters is rounded at the corners. The height of the basic structure corresponds to the height of the neighboring structures.
Architecture and construction technology
Like the Eiffel Tower, the steel lattice tower stands on four feet. The support structure extending from the feet tapers as the height of the tower increases. Each foundation block consists of a concrete block measuring almost 390 cubic meters (10.3 × 10.3 × 3.6 meters). The corners of the tower feet are in plan view a square with a side length of 29.8 meters. The relatively small dimensions of the tower base result from the given space and the proximity to the neighboring properties.
From each foot of the foundation, four parallel columns grow up to a height of 25.8 meters above the ground. This part of the tower is only visible from the inside in the area of the circus ring. At constant intervals of nine meters, cross struts reinforce the basic structure of the tower. The tie rods running between the individual floors with a variable diameter of 5 to 8.2 centimeters counteract the diagonal shear stresses . The tower shaft made of steel framework consists of a frame made of latticed supports, which are connected to each other with different struts , angles and plates via corner plates with bolts and rivets .
The cantilevered, balcony-like lower visitor platform is located at a height of 116 meters. It represents the lowest part of the orientalized tower cage . On this level there is a glass floor that allows a view downwards. A spiral staircase takes visitors to two additional and higher viewing platforms that taper towards the top . These platforms offer space for up to 600 visitors. The floors above the floors accessible to visitors serve exclusively as company floors. The top operating floor is a crow's nest , which measures around 1.80 meters in diameter and carries a tubular flagpole around 10 meters high on its top . The crow's nest can be reached from the lower platform via 563 steps. Structurally, the curved, tent-like tip of the tower cage is reminiscent of a pavilion . This filigree-looking shape is also taken up on the third floor, the four offset corners of which are also crowned in the form of a pavilion.
Elevators
The ascent in the Blackpool Tower was carried out by two elevators from the Otis Elevator Company . Since the building was opened, these could be operated independently of one another, which was not a matter of course at the time. For example, two counter-rotating elevators were originally used on the Eiffel Tower. In order to cope with the enormous difference in height up to the third platform at the Eiffel Tower, the other elevator car served as a counterweight and at the same time moved in the opposite direction. In terms of design, the waiting hall in front of the elevators was originally implemented as an Old English village. From 1904 the ambience was transformed into a Chinatown . In addition to dragon figures and Chinese patterns, implied pagoda roofs adorned the waiting area. This was later replaced by an oriental lounge .
The elevators were originally operated hydraulically . Initially, a gas-powered machine installed in 1894 pumped water into the hydraulic lines, thereby ensuring the locomotion. The gas-powered internal combustion engine from Crossley Brothers with two cylinders had a stroke of 9.90 meters each and the hydraulic pistons had a diameter of 53 centimeters. Three water reservoirs were located at the base of the southwestern tower foot. Each of the two cabins weighed around six tons and could carry up to 25 people. The elevators had to cope with a height difference of 99 meters. The ascent took 55 seconds, the return down 33 seconds. On peak days, the elevator system made around 500 trips in 14 hours and brought around 12,000 visitors to the viewing platforms.
This first plant was in operation for almost 60 years. Between 1952 and 1957 it was replaced by an electrically operated one. The electrical, generators and control instruments were of Otis Elevator Co. Ltd. installed. The winch and brake system came from Robey’s . For the conversion it was necessary to build a completely new machine room in the roof of the tower cage. The drum of the cable winch measures 2.43 meters in diameter and is operated by a direct current motor with 88 kW. In addition, the elevator was equipped with several safety mechanisms. For example, if the maximum speed is exceeded by 20 percent, a braking system is activated. In addition, manual control is possible via a separate circuit.
Color and lighting
The half-timbered building was painted magenta until 1935 , after which it changed to dark red. Each coat of paint required around nine tons of paint. Due to the air enriched with sea salt, the red looks very dark and sometimes looks rather black. On very windy days, the salt is deposited up to 91 meters from the tower shaft. The painting work is done by craftsmen who are free from giddiness, the so-called "stick-men". Despite many safety precautions, a worker was killed when the bar he was standing on broke in the 1960s. For the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's throne , the tower was exceptionally painted silver in the anniversary year of 1977.
For the first time, the Blackpool Tower was illuminated with colored light in the fall of 1925. The structure is an integral part of the annual city-wide light festival Blackpool Illuminations . Until the renovation in 2011, the tower was illuminated by 10,000 light bulbs, since then the tower has been illuminated at night by 3,500 energy-saving light - emitting diodes .
Channel
The spire of the Blackpool Tower has been used for broadcasting the analogue VHF radio program RadioWave 96.5 since 1992 .
| program | RDS PS | RDS PI |
Frequency (MHz) |
ERP (kW) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RadioWave 96.5 | The_WAVE | C886 | 96.5 | 0.1 |
In addition to the city, the transmission area includes the coastal region of Fylde . Other national or regional media outlets do not use the tower as a transmitter , as there is already sufficient coverage of the area around Blackpool inland. There are also other non-broadcast services in the tower.
history
Idea and background
The idea to build the tower came from the London hotelier John Bickerstaffe after visiting the Paris World Exhibition in 1889 . Bickerstaffe, who was also the mayor of Blackpool, was so impressed by the Eiffel Tower that was built especially for the exhibition that on his return he set up a commission of business people to build a similar tower in Blackpool. At the same time, other tower construction projects arose across the country that wanted to emulate the Eiffel Tower. The fact that such projects were associated with risks was demonstrated by the parallel construction of Watkin's Tower in London . The tower was also based on the Parisian model and should even surpass it by a few meters. The company finally failed due to financial feasibility and was discontinued even though the tower had already reached a height of 47 meters.
The tower construction project in Douglas , the capital of the Isle of Man , had to be finished again shortly after the foundations were erected in October 1890. The seaside resort in Morecambe wanted to compete directly with Blackpool to the south with a tower around 70 meters high. However, the structure erected in 1898 was dismantled again at the beginning of the First World War for the production of ammunition.
The Blackpool Tower itself became the model for the New Brighton Tower , opened in 1900 , which had a similar structure with a base house and a steel lattice tower . This took him the title of tallest structure in the United Kingdom. The New Brighton Tower was demolished from 1919 due to its dilapidation.
Planning and construction
The Bickerstaffe commission commissioned the two architects James Maxwell and Charles Tuke from Lancashire to draw up a design for the building complex. The engineer RJG Reade carried out the calculations for the tower construction. The structural engineering led Heenan & Froude out. The Manchester company also provided electrical lighting for the aquariums , which was one of the attractions of Blackpool Tower. Due to the strong reference to the Parisian model, it was originally even considered to name the tower Blackpool Eiffel Tower .
.jpg)
On February 19, 1891, the investors set up with an initial investment of 150,000 pounds sterling , the Blackpool Tower Company Limited for the construction project; Bickerstaffe himself contributed £ 20,000. In the project phase it was initially assumed that the construction costs would be significantly lower, namely around 40,000 pounds. However, additional steel for greater security increased costs. The building was the first project in the seaside resort that was financed from outside. A dubious takeover attempt by the construction company of the Douglas Tower , which was built at the same time, was ultimately averted by Bickerstaffe.
On September 25, 1891, in the presence of local celebrities, the cornerstone was ceremoniously laid by MP Sir Matthew White Ridley with a time capsule . The foundation work took place in the winter of 1891/1892. With regard to the foundations of the tower, it was rumored for decades that they were mounted on cotton balls that had a dampening effect in order to increase flexibility in strong winds. John Bickerstaffe himself made this claim when asked about the construction. His ironic remark was purely symbolic, as the tower was built by many cotton workers from Lancashire, among others.
The construction required a total of around 2,500 tons of steel and five million bricks for the base construction. A hydraulic process from Fielding & Platt was used for riveting . About 200 construction workers were involved in the work. A worker had an accident during the construction work by falling from a height of 100 meters. The final construction cost for the entire complex was £ 298,280, which, adjusted for inflation, was around £ 40 million in 2006. Of the total cost, only £ 42,000 was the tower structure itself. That was a fraction of the cost of the Eiffel Tower, which was the equivalent of £ 298,000. The cost of building the New Brighton Tower was £ 60,000. This made the Blackpool Tower the cheapest of the three towers in terms of its height.
The construction of the tower not only proved to be an outstanding technical achievement, but also became a tourist attraction and helped the city of Blackpool to grow steadily. In one of the first travel guides to mention the Blackpool Tower, it was described profusely:
"The successfus erection of the Tower, in itself one of the greatest engineering feats of modern times, forms only one portion of their gigantic undertaking. To this must be added the completion of the extensive block of buildings clustered round the Tower Basement, another great triumph of the architect's art and the builder's skill. "
“The successful construction of the tower, in itself one of the greatest technical masterpieces of modern times, shows only one side of his gigantic undertaking. In addition, the completion of the extensive basic structures around the base of the tower must be mentioned, which represents another great triumph of the architectural art and the skills of its builders. "
Opening and first years of operation
As early as September 1893, local journalists were given the opportunity to climb the tower using makeshift ladders. The official opening took place on May 14, 1894 in a festive setting. At that time the entrance fee was 6 pence , as was the entrance to the tower with the elevator and a further 6 pence for attending the circus performance. On the opening day, a total of around 3000 interested people drove up to the viewing platform in the top of the tower. The two Otis elevators took visitors from 16.7 meters up to the platform at 115 meters. From there stairs led further up. In contrast to those in the Eiffel Tower, the lifts were built so that they could move people up and down independently of each other. In the beginning, the units located in the tower still produced the electricity for the Blackpool Tower's own needs.
On December 22nd, 1894, the Canadian three-masted Abana, sailing under the Norwegian flag, was caught in a storm en route from Liverpool to Florida . The crew mistook the recently built Blackpool Tower for a lighthouse and headed for the coast, where the ship crashed on Little Bispham Beach. The wreckage of the ship can still be seen at low tide.
The construction of the Blackpool Tower brought millions of vacationers to the city and the city was increasingly developed into an entertainment center. The Winter Gardens entertainment complex, which opened in 1878, also benefited from this . With the erection of the tower, its operators began a veritable arms race, attracting the attention of visitors. A remarkable competition arose when the 70-meter-high Blackpool Ferris wheel was erected on the site of the Winter Gardens in 1896 . The press referred to this rivalry as the "Battle of the Giants" ("Battle of the Giants"). In 1928 the Ferris wheel was dismantled again as a result of the bankruptcy of the operating company and the takeover of the owner of the tower company.
On the late Thursday evening of July 22, 1897, around 11 p.m., a fire broke out in the upper half of the tower shaft , which spread to the top of the tower. A short circuit in the electrical system is suspected to be the cause of the fire . It was impossible for the fire brigade to put out the fire on the tower themselves. Three firefighters climbed the metal ladder towards the top platform and had to turn back without having achieved anything when hot debris fell on them. Therefore, the fire brigade limited itself to preventing the fire from spreading to surrounding structures. The fire reached its peak around midnight. After the combustible materials in the tower had burned down, the fire went out by itself in the course of the following hours. The structure of the tower remained largely intact during the disaster. With the exception of one injured person, there were no casualties, as nobody was at the top of the tower at the time of the accident. However, one of the counterweights of the elevator fell into the circus boxes. Since it would have been too expensive to remove, it was hidden behind a mirrored wall. The tower driveway was closed until the end of the season. In the course of the repair of the elevator system, a safety brake system was installed and the formerly wooden floors of the platform were replaced with concrete floors.
The Wright brothers' successful attempt to fly in 1903 prompted the owner of the Daily Mail , Lord Northcliffe , to hold a flying competition in Blackpool in 1909 . Northcliffe submitted the proposal to the city government, who saw it as an opportunity to attract a large number of visitors to the city through this attraction. John Bickerstaffe was also convinced of this idea and offered a prize of 150 pounds for the plane who made it first to fly around Blackpool Tower. However, concerned residents forced him to withdraw his offer because the risk of an accident was assessed as too great.
The steel corroded over the years due to insufficient maintenance of the steel framework construction. The paint was not renewed until the 1920s. In the years 1921 to 1924 the steel frame had to be restored and partially replaced. Bickerstaffe donated £ 100,000 for this work. During the First World War , the viewing platform was closed to the public. At the same time, the ballroom was used for public cinema screenings . As a result, films were also made in Blackpool, both in and on the tower, which were mostly shot in co-production with the tower company. One of the most famous is the 1927 silent film Hindle Wakes .
In 1930 John Bickerstaffe, the initiator of the tower construction project and owner of the tower, died.
Military use during World War II
In the first six days after Great Britain entered the Second World War in September 1939, the amusement facilities were initially forcibly closed. After a protest by the staff, however, the government withdrew this step, as the facilities opened would be of greater use, especially in times of war.
In 1940, 12.2 meters of the tower cage at the top of the tower had to give way to a radar system for the Royal Air Force . For this purpose, a wooden structure with receiving antennas was erected, as well as a number of additional steel brackets for the installation of transmitting antennas. Some technical obstacles had to be overcome, such as the disturbing interference from the power line of the nearby tram , but also the steel framework construction of the tower itself. The Blackpool Tower was part of the so-called Chain Home , a ring of coastal radar stations in Great Britain.
In addition to radar surveillance, the tower cage was also used by the military to observe the Irish Sea. It was also used by the National Fire Service for monitoring purposes. The Royal Air Force used the ballroom, while the Royal Artillery held lectures and training in Tower Circus. In the evenings, the rooms were used to entertain both the troops and the vacationers.
Development into a modern tourist attraction
After the war, the tower was reopened to the public in August 1946, and a mailbox was set up in its tower basket for visitors in 1949 . The hydraulically operated elevators were replaced between 1952 and 1957 by more contemporary electric ones, which at the same time were less susceptible to strong winds.
The Bickerstaffe family remained the owners of the tower until 1964, which they then sold to the record company EMI . Over the years, the tower has been decorated or furnished on certain occasions. In 1984, for the 90th birthday of Blackpool Tower, a huge inflated model, over 25 meters tall, of a menacingly snarling King Kong , which had been transferred from the film city of San Diego , was hung on the tower . In the same year, the tower was included in the highest category “Grade I” of the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest and subjected to a thorough exterior renovation. In May 1985, the escape artist Karl Bartoni (resident) gave his bride his vow in front of thousands of people in a flower-adorned cage, which was roped below the viewing platform, at a height of approx. 110 m.
In 1992 the elevators and hoists were replaced a second time and the complex was reopened in the same year by Princess Diana under the name Tower World . The steel framework structure, which is regularly painted in a dark red, was painted gold to mark its centenary. In October 2007 a widely visible laser light was installed at the top of the Blackpool Tower . Astronomer Patrick Moore criticized this facility as unnecessary and disruptive because its strength interfered with observations by the University of Central Lancashire's Astrophysical Institute at Preston.
After the Bickerstaffe family sold the tower to EMI in the mid-1960s, the ownership structure changed several times in the following decades. The city government bought the tower in March 2010 and has since operated it together with the Merlin Entertainment Group, which has invested in a number of other attractions in and around the tower. The viewing platforms were closed to the public in 2010 for renovation work and reopened on September 1, 2011. The lavish work was part of a £ 20 million investment in the tower and promenade. In the course of 2012 the tower feet were repainted. This marked the beginning of a long restoration phase in which the supporting masonry was also repaired and the steel frame was renovated. On May 31, 2016, the work was completed with the dismantling of the movable scaffolding.
Attractions
In addition to the viewing terrace at its top, the tower complex offers visitors other attractions in the base building, some of which are traditional and steeped in history. Some of the attractions have been adapted to the changing zeitgeist over the years.
Blackpool Tower Eye
The view from the Blackpool Tower is marketed as the Blackpool Tower Eye ; the name is based on the London Eye , a tourist attraction also operated by Merlin Entertainment. Two elevators take visitors from the main building to a level 17 meters high, from where the main elevator takes 69 seconds to the top of the tower.
The largest viewing platform is at a height of 116 meters. The floor and part of the wall above the south-western base of the tower are completely lined with glass. This attraction, originally called the Walk of Faith (German: Confidence Path), and now Sky Walk (German: Himmelspfad), enables a vertical view down to the street level. The 4.15 ton glass floor in the tower cage, built in 1998 based on the model of the CN Tower in Toronto , enables a vertical view into the depths. The double-reinforced glass is five centimeters thick.
On a clear day, the tower overlooks the Furness Peninsula , the Forest of Bowland Nature Reserve , the Lake District and the 557-meter-high Pendle Hill, as well as the North Wales region and even the Isle of Man . Above the lower viewing platform there are two other smaller open-air platforms that are accessible to the public and protected with appropriate grating.
Ballroom
.jpg)
Just a few months after the Blackpool Tower opened, in August 1894, the Tower Pavilion opened . This original ballroom was smaller than the current one and was located at the front of the complex. The current hall was built between 1897 and 1898 based on a design by Frank Matcham . Matcham also designed the Blackpool Grand Theater, which opened in 1899.
The floor of the hall with a square floor plan and an edge length of 37 meters is composed of 30,602 individual panels made of mahogany , oak and walnut . The dance floor is surrounded on three sides by three-story galleries. A stage opens to one side and can be reached by stairs. Above the stage is "Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear" from William Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis . Any chandelier hanging in the hall can be lowered to the floor for cleaning purposes.
From 1930 to 1970 Reginald Dixon (1904–1985), also known as "Mister Blackpool", was the organist in the ballroom. The first Wurlitzer cinema organ was installed in 1929, but was replaced six years later by one designed by Dixon himself. Ernest Broadbent took over Dixon's office in 1970 and was organist in the ballroom until he left in 1977. Phil Kelsall has been an organist ever since.
The hall was badly damaged by fire on December 14, 1956. In addition to the parquet, the restaurant below was also affected. The damage took two years to repair and cost £ 500,000. The former restaurant was converted into the Tower Lounge . A reopening ceremony took place on May 28, 1958.
For several years the ballroom was the venue for the BBC series Come Dancing , as well as the show Strictly Come Dancing , with the final on December 11, 2004. The Blackpool Youth Dance Festival Open to the World has also been held annually in these rooms since 1964. Originally, dancing was not allowed on Sundays and there were otherwise strict rules in the ballroom. A number of permanent band memberships played in the hall, including Bertini and his band and Charlie Barlow. Under the direction of the operator Leisure Parcs and the director Greg Francis, the Blackpool Tower Big Band was reorganized after a 25-year break .
Tower Circus
In the Blackpool Tower is the permanently resident Tower Circus , which can accommodate up to 2,500 visitors. The circus gave its first performance on the day the tower opened, May 14, 1894, and has played continuously every season since then. This makes the circus the oldest in the United Kingdom to perform without seasonal interruption and the oldest permanent circus arena in the world.
The ring with a diameter of 12.8 meters is located at the base, embedded within the four tower feet. The furnishings, designed by Frank Matcham in 1900, are still true to the original. A water basin with a capacity of 160,000 liters and 1.37 meters high can be embedded in the circus circuit. There are artfully designed fountains that are used for the finale of the performance. There is a gallery at a height of six meters above the ground . The circus ceiling, almost 17 meters high, forms the floor of the elevator hall.
Since the opening, many circus stars have performed in the Tower Circus ring . The clown Charlie Cairoli (1910–1980) performed here for a total of 39 years. Animal training numbers were performed until 1990 and the performances are accompanied by their own live band.
At the end of the 1990s, there were considerations to replace the traditional circus with an animated attraction. The circus business was continued, however, as the general public spoke out against it. The current ringmaster is the Hungarian Laci Endresz Jr. (* 1974). During the winter months, instead of the regular performances, pantomime performances take place in the circus .
In addition to circus performances in the premises of 1950-1951 and 1955-1956 which found Snooker World Championships and 1977, the first edition of the UK Championship in Snooker instead.
Aquarium
Even before the Blackpool Tower was built, an aquarium had been in this location since the 1870s . When the base house was built, it was integrated and was part of Dr Cocker's Menagarie and Aquarium . It remained open during the construction work on the tower in order to be able to cover part of the construction costs from the entrance fees. The aquarium showed a total of 57 different species of fresh and saltwater fish on an area of 44.5 × 18.9 meters. The largest aquarium had a capacity of 32,000 liters. The aquarium finally closed at the end of 2010 to make room for the new dungeons attraction. The Sea Life Center has existed in Blackpool since 1990 and has belonged to the same operating company Merlin Entertainments Group as the Blackpool Tower since 1999 .
Other attractions
Since September 2011 there is a 4D cinema in the Blackpool Tower . There is also the Jurassic Walk (German: Jurapfad), a prehistoric landscape that recreates the time of the dinosaurs. The also newly opened attraction Tower Dungeon (German: Tower Dungeon ) is a form of horror cabinet that recreates the gruesome legends and events of Blackpool's history over the past 1000 years.
With the Jungle Jim's Towering Adventureland , a 2500 square meter adventure playground for children is offered within the premises of the base house. Thematically a sunken city is presented, in which one can deny a number of adventures in the form of treasure hunts.
An exhibition recalls the life of the famous clown Charlie Cairoli . The Tower Heritage Trail , which is dedicated to the history of the tower, also offers a historical look back . The Tower Lounge Bar , a large pub that could seat around 1,500 people, was closed in November 2014. A fish restaurant from the Harry Ramsden chain and another restaurant in the tower complex are to be opened in its place in summer 2016 .
reception
Reception in architecture and society
The Blackpool Tower is one of the first of a total of six tower construction projects that arose in the United Kingdom at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries as part of the wave of tower construction that began with the construction of the Eiffel Tower . At the same time, the building is the only surviving tower from this era. The tower is considered a great engineering icon of the Victorian Age and the most important British construction of all times.
The Blackpool Tower acquired a strong symbolic power for the city but also for the British coastline. Similar to piers , the tower enables people to celebrate human violence over nature. Just as the Eiffel Tower broke up the class differences of the time , historians also see the Blackpool Tower as having a variety of democratic open spaces that the building created. At the time of its opening, the Blackpool Tower was a place of fun and a break from the conventions of everyday working life, up to and including a utopian symbol of hope for every visitor to Blackpool. Central to these interpretations is the distant view, which Blackpool Tower made possible at a time when there was no civil aviation. Until the 1930s it is documented that groups of visitors described their first view from the oriental tower pulpit as extremely exciting. The essentially utilitarian city structures were given an ornamental character when viewed from the tower and grew into a powerful symbol for access to another world.
Nowadays, the importance of the first decades does not play such a major role. However, the Blackpool Tower has managed to maintain its popularity. The tower, built in 1894, represents the stamina and discipline of the industrial age, as well as the value of the middle class from the Victorian age. Nonetheless, crowded crowds, chaotic economy, stilted entertainment and shamelessly celebrated nostalgia are associated with it.
Reception in the media
The tower has been the location or part of the action in a number of British films. So the showdown of the agent film Dick Barton Strickes Back from 1947 takes place at the tower. The villain of the film wants to bring his magic bullet to the top of the tower and let hundreds of thousands of people die from there. To thwart this, he is pursued by the main character, agent Dick Barton. On the way to the top there is a fight scene in the elevator. The film poster also takes up the action on the tower in a scenic way. The Blackpool Tower is also part of a dramatic scene in the 1949 thriller Forbidden, and it is shown in several scenes in the 1995 tragic comedy Funny Bones .
In the song Up the pool from the album Living in the past by the Blackpool band Jethro Tull , the tower is taken up in a song about their hometown in the line of text “The iron tower smiles down upon the silver sea”.
In Tim Burton's film The Island of Special Children , Blackpool Tower and Tower Circus serve as the backdrop for the film's finale. The ubiquity of the tower in the Blackpool cityscape is reflected, for example, in the fact that some local companies and the local daily Blackpool Gazette have its silhouette in their logo. The tourism industry also frequently advertises the famous sight in connection with the city of Blackpool or the surrounding area.
literature
Books
- Bill Curtis: Blackpool Tower. Terence Dalton, 1988, ISBN 0-86138-064-9 .
- Blackpool Tower. Hyperion Books, 1988, ISBN 978-0-86138-068-8 .
- Daniel Potier, John Sheward: Blackpool Tower Circus: A Pictorial History. Aardvark Publishing, 2001, ISBN 1-872904-20-3 .
- Daniel Potier: Clowns of Blackpool Tower Circus. Book Systems Plus, 2001, ISBN 1-872904-19-X .
- Fred Gray: Designing the Seaside: Architecture, Society and Nature. Reaction Books, 2006, ISBN 1-86189-274-8 .
- Jim Green: Blackpool Tower Caper. Profits Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-933817-23-1 .
- Peter Walton: Blackpool Tower: A History , Amberley Publishing, 2016, ISBN 978-1-4456-4498-1 .
Technical article
- Blackpool Tower. Part 1, In: Engineering. May 1895, issue 5, volume 59.
- Blackpool Tower. Part 2, In: Engineering. June 1895, issue 6, volume 59.
- RT McDonald: Blackpool Tower. In: The Structural Engineer. Volume 72, No. 21/1 November 1994, pp. 362-364. ( istructe.org ; PDF; 667 kB).
- Janette Rutterford, Peter Walton: The war, taxation and the Blackpool Tower Company . in: Accounting History Review , 2014, ISSN 2155-2851, pp. 103-117.
Web links
- Blackpool Tower. In: Structurae
- Official website of the Blackpool Tower (English)
- skyscrapernews.com: Basic data on the Blackpool Tower
- Historical material for Blackpool Tower (English)
- BBC: In pictures: Blackpool Tower Ballroom's spring clean
- dailymail.co.uk: Don't look down! Blackpool Tower reopens with dizzying glass floors after multi-million pound revamp (English)
Videos
- Video of the tower driveway and view from Blackpool Tower
- Historical video from the tower ascent in 1947
- Video of the painting of Blackpool Tower in 1939
Individual evidence
- ^ Entry on James Maxwell and Charles Tuke , accessed February 25, 2012.
- ^ A b McDonald: Blackpool Tower. P. 363. quoted from: Engineering. March 1893.
- ^ Blackpool Tower Heritage (101–110) ( September 28, 2007 memento in the Internet Archive ), accessed February 25, 2012.
- ↑ McDonald: Blackpool Tower. P. 362. quoted from: Engineering. March 1893.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 121.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 122.
- ↑ McDonald: Blackpool Tower. P. 363.
- ↑ a b c d Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 129.
- ^ Blackpool Tower Heritage (91-100). ( Memento of September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on February 25, 2012.
- ^ Chinatown, Blackpool Tower, in the early 1900s. accessed on June 23, 2016.
- ^ A b Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 125.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 126.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 128.
- ^ A b Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 92.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 91.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 93.
- ↑ Blackpool Tower: England's Most Spectacular View , September 6, 2011 article, accessed February 15, 2012.
- ↑ Information on RadioWave 96.5 , accessed on June 22, 2016.
- ^ ILR Blackpool ( Memento December 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), accessed February 25, 2012.
- ↑ Tim Uden (Ed.): BUG Britain & Ireland: The Backpackers' Ultimate Guide. Bug Backpackers Guide 2005, ISBN 0-9581796-5-4 , p. 206.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 19.
- ^ The Tower Morecambe Selected photographs from the archives of Morecambe Bay, accessed February 7, 2012.
- ^ A b engineering-timelines.com: Blackpool Tower
- ^ British Industrial History: Heenan and Froude
- ^ A b McDonald: Blackpool Tower. P. 362.
- ^ An advert for shares in the Blackpool Tower Company, July, 1891, with a list of directors and abridged prospectus. , accessed February 25, 2012.
- ^ Blackpool History ( Memento February 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), accessed January 22, 2012.
- ↑ a b Blackpool Tower Heritage Trail (71-80) ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Walton: Blackpool Tower: A History , p. 46
- ^ Blackpool Tower Foundation Stone Ceremony, 1891 , accessed February 25, 2012.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 23.
- ^ Stephan Mills: Fielding & Platt, An innovative Gloucester engineering company. The first 100 Years, 1866-1966. P. 11. (PDF; 171 kB)
- ↑ On this day in history in 1894, Blackpool Tower was opened. , accessed January 17, 2012.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 131.
- ↑ Historic England (Ed.): Blackpool's Seaside Heritage , 2014, ISBN 978-1-84802-110-5 , p. 65.
- ^ The Blackpool Tower ; Article in Liverpool Mercury, May 1, 1894, accessed February 25, 2012.
- ^ The Fylde coast - A graveyard for ships. In: Blackpool Gazette. February 1, 2008 (English), accessed January 18, 2012.
- ↑ Dandelion. Stone Troughs & Architectural Antiques: The life & death of Blackpool's gigantic wheel , accessed July 29, 2019
- ^ A b Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 37.
- ^ Blackpool Tower Fire. Article in Liverpool Mercury, Saturday July 24, 1897, accessed February 25, 2012.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 38.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. Pp. 41, 44.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 45.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 48.
- ^ Ward's Book of Days. ; Article on the anniversary of the opening of the tower; Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- ^ A b Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 63.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 66.
- ^ Blackpool: Then and Now. Blackpool Gazette / At Heart Ltd, Altrincham 2007, ISBN 978-1-84547-153-8 , p. 14.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 108.
- ^ Karl Bartolis' autobiographical website
- ↑ Veteran TV star-gazer blasts tower laser. , in: Blackpool Gazette. of October 24, 2007 ( Memento of October 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ BBC: Blackpool Tower reopens to public after £ 20m restoration , accessed July 16, 2020.
- ↑ BBC: Blackpool Tower's frontage to be restored with glass canopy , article January 5, 2012, accessed July 16, 2020.
- ^ Blackpool Tower Conservation , February 20, 2020 on a regional website ("Visit Fylde Coast"), accessed July 16, 2020.
- ^ Blackpool Tower Eye ( Memento January 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), accessed February 14, 2012.
- ↑ HistoryExtra: The Blackpool Tower , accessed June 27, 2016
- ^ William Shakespeare: Venus and Adonis. In: The complete works of William Shakespeare. Wordsworth Editions 1996, p. 1196 ( Wikisource ; translation by Emil Wagner, 1840), p. 89: "Let me chat: I want to delight your ear."
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 99.
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 102.
- ↑ Strictly a sellout for return of TV classic. In: Blackpool Gazette. November 18, 2004, accessed January 20, 2012.
- ↑ Blackpool Tower Circus , last accessed on April 23, 2019
- ^ Curtis: Blackpool Tower. P. 131.
- ^ Tim Lambert: A brief history of Blackpool. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ↑ What is Blackpool Dungeon? ( Memento of January 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved February 25, 2012.
- ^ Jungle Jim's Children's Indoor Play ( January 25, 2012 memento on the Internet Archive ), accessed February 25, 2012.
- ↑ Last orders called for the final time at Tower Lounge ( English ) In: The Gazette . November 10, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
- ↑ £ 2.4m investment in Blackpool Tower ( English ) Blackpool Council. February 1, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
- ↑ Ward's Book of Days: May 14th: On this day in history in 1894, Blackpool Tower was opened. accessed on June 27, 2016.
- ↑ Massive celebration to mark Tower's 120th birthday. In: Blackpool Gazette. May 14, 2014, accessed June 27, 2016.
- ↑ a b Paul Dobraszczyk: Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain. Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2014, ISBN 978-1-4724-1898-2 , p. 177.
- ↑ Dick Barton Strikes Back. - Review of the film, accessed on February 14, 2012.
- ↑ Forbidden ( Memento of March 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) - Review of the film (English), accessed on February 14, 2012.
- ↑ Funny Bones - Synopsis of the film, accessed on August 10, 2020
- ↑ Up the pool lyrics , accessed February 21, 2012.
