This week's Sepia Saturday photograph (below) prompted me to feature my mother, her sister and friend enjoying themselves in the 1930's in the South Shore Open Air Baths in Blackpool, Lancashire.
My mother Kathleen Danson
Swimming took off as a popular leisure activity in the 1920's as part of the interest in improving health and fitness. The seaside resort of Blackpool, like with so many initiatives, was one of the first to jump on this bandwagon for building lidos, with the Open Air Baths at South Shore opening to visitors in 1923.
At the time, it was the largest in the world. and its statistics are staggering. It cost £75,000 - equivalent to £2,248,000 in today's money. Built in a classical style with pillars and colonnades, (you can just make these out in the photographs below), it could accommodate 8000 spectators/sunbathers, and 1500 swimmers. The dimensions met Olympic standards for competitions with a 100-metre length down one side of the pool, and a 16 feet diving pit with boards graded to 10 metres (from where you could see the mountains and hills of the Lake District). There were areas for little ones, fountains and slides, bars and cafes - so something for everyone.
My mother with her younger sister Peggy
My mother's close friend who I always knew as Auntie Phyliss -
Look at those shoes - still in fashion!
Look at those shoes - still in fashion!
In that 1950's and 60's, the Open Air Pool became popular venue for international and national beauty contests and the location for celebrity photographs.
I remember Mum taking my brother and I there for a swim - unfortunately there are no photographs of the day. As it involved a bus and a tram journey to get there, I can't ever remember going again.
But,
you needed to be hardy in all but the best of weathers, as the water was
notoriously cold. From the 1950's holidaymakers were heading abroad
and becoming used to
the waters of warmer climes. Use dropped and the Baths became a big
white elephant.
The South Shore Open Air Baths were demolished in 1983 to make way for the Sandcastle indoor water complex.
The South Shore Open Air Baths were demolished in 1983 to make way for the Sandcastle indoor water complex.
But for fifty years they remained an iconic image of their era.
The famous Blackpool Tower - photograph taken from the North Pier, c.1990's
Sources:
Based on a post first published in 2012
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are enjoying fun in the water.
Click HERE to read how other Sepia Saturday bloggers
are enjoying fun in the water.
The expense of building such a giant swimming pool is surprising considering the short season that it could be used in the British climate. It must have been challenging to calculate a ticket price that would bring a profit.
ReplyDeleteA gorgeous pool complex, reminds me on a swimming pool that we visited while in Miami a few years back. It was built about the same time -- it must have been quite the thing back then. I also like the photos of your mother. The first one has such similar feeling to the Prompt photo.
ReplyDelete8000! Imagine that! You have presented a very interesting history that has made me wonder if we had anything like that around here. I recall a few public pools but nothing of that magnitude. Since we are on the coast, we have a beach that probably won out over any pool. Water parks are really popular though, probably because there are water rides and slides for those who can't make their own fun. (yeah, snarky snarky)
ReplyDeleteYour mother's suit and pose are so like the woman in the prompt. Fascinating history of the pool complex. I remember swimming in a smaller version of this in my upstate New York hometown in the 1950s -- alas long gone to more modern development.
ReplyDeleteSuch magnitude! 8000 is a good many folks congregating around one pool no matter how big. I'm surprised the cold temperature of the water would turn stiff upper-lip Brits away. I'll bet Lake Tahoe is colder, but we Californians love it. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your comments. Yes the statistics on the Pool were impressive- Blackpool liked to lead the way in leisure provision, with its heyday in the period between the wars and into the early 1950’s.
ReplyDelete