Blackpool in context

By Sid Jepsen, Literary Associate, The Huntington Theatre

Blackpool, England is a seaside town 30 miles north of Liverpool, and is known as a once glamorous holiday and entertainment hub — a place where tourists flocked and filled its theatres, amusement parks, circuses, even zoos! Located on England’s northwest shore, Blackpool blossomed into a popular UK tourist destination following the opening of the town’s first railway station in 1846. By the late 1800s, hundreds of thousands of tourists were squeezing themselves into row upon row of loungers to take in the sea breeze and cramming into the many boarding houses that dotted the city streets — like Veronica Webb’s Seaview in Butterworth’s The Hills of California. At night, visitors walked the promenade; in 1879 it became the first city street to have electric lights. The end of the 19th century also featured Blackpool’s most notable skyline change — The Blackpool Tower. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower, and featuring a 360-degree observation deck, The Blackpool Tower genuinely offered a refreshed perspective on the seaside town.

Blackpool’s reputation as a destination for fun and escape only grew in the 20th century, and inspired would-be entertainers from around the world — including Walt Disney, who sent a research team to Blackpool in advance of opening his first theme park in California. While maintaining its reputation as an entertainment hub, early 1900s Blackpool saw an increase in gaudy commercialism. Similar to the heyday of American seaside escapes like New York’s Coney Island, the commodifying of Blackpool included site-specific souvenirs and seasonally popular funfair attractions. Blackpool’s popularity unintentionally rose during World War II. Due to the town’s location, Blackpool was not under threat of bombing during the war, and as a result it became a solace for those displaced. The seasonal flurry of Blackpool’s earlier decades was replaced with year-round visitation — boosting the area’s economy during a difficult time for the country at large. Blackpool’s popularity continued to grow following the war. Travel and traffic records were broken consistently, even bad weather and the train strikes of 1955 could not deter eager holiday-goers. With the growing abundance of cars in England, Blackpool’s entertainment scene grew louder and flashier than ever before, with stars like Connie Francis and Harry Belafonte touring to local theatres; the town even hosted a Royal Variety Show attended by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

The thrill of live entertainment could only flourish for so long after the advent of television. Public appetites changed in a way that transformed Blackpool; fewer people were interested in traveling to see entertainment when the best singers were performing on screens in their own living room. Even from a practical standpoint — Blackpool’s infrastructure, once meant to host those on summer holiday and which was later subjected to year-round, constant use — fell into ever-increasing disrepair. With new technological advances the globe became more accessible. When the English went on holiday in the 1960s and 70s, they began to set their sights abroad, and little by little, Blackpool faded into an echo of what used to be. Theatres shuttered, and the quaint boarding houses followed soon behind. Still home to a beautiful beach, Blackpool is now more known for its history than its present state.