I've reached the last quarter of 1983 in my scanning now. The famous Illuminations start every year on the Friday following August Bank Holiday Monday and end on the first Sunday in November.
One September night saw me down on the Promenade by the Pleasure Beach. A highlight of the Illuminations was always seeing illuminated trams going up and down the Promenade. There were more of them on the tracks in those days than there are now.
The Hovertram in 1983 carried advertisements for Oystons Estate Agents, but was far better known for its previous sponsor and still referred to as the "Shell" hovertram. It is seen here passing the amusements arcade by the northern entrance to the Pleasure Beach.
For several years during the 1980s lasers were used to create startling rods of light that swung across the sky from the piers and the Tower top. They were green in colour and could be seen quite spectacularly from the approach to Blackpool along the M55 motorway if you were driving in at night.
The Pleasure Beach Casino building has never been a casino. It was a name carried over from the building's predecessor, which likewise was more about restaurants and bars than gambling. The art deco circular building housed the White Tower Restaurant and for a while a grotto-style ride through which you travelled in a large suspended seat.
Balloon tram 708 stops to let passengers disembark. From the background you could be forgiven for thinking that this was taken along the Bispham cliffs, but at this time there were still a limited number of large tableaux on the Promenade south of the Pleasure Beach.
Wow, you have shown Blackpool from a new angel. I must say it is so pretty to see this place like this illuminated. When I was in Blackpool long back for a family trip, I enjoyed there a lot. My wife jokingly told that she wanted to stay back in Blackpool, now we are thinking of buying a house there, is there any website to find a good Estate agent in Blackpool?
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