Built on the former grounds of Rock Point House the work began in July 1896 on The New Brighton Tower which opened in 1900, and at 567 feet high was taller than Blackpool Tower. With a 1,000 tonne lattice-steel observation tower overlooking the Wirral Peninsula, it was the tallest building in Britain when it was completed with its magnificent gardens covering an area of 35 acres and visitors were charged a single entrance fee of one shilling which allowed them into the Tower grounds. Access to the resort was now convenient with frequent and direct boats from Liverpool Landing Stage, a service of electric cars via Seacombe, and the new electrified system of the Mersey Railway Co., who ran trains from Central Low Level or James Street Station (Liverpool), every few minutes. The Tower Theatre was one of the finest of its kind in the world with seating accommodation provided for 3,000 people, and the stage one of the largest in England. It had a proscenium opening of 45 feet, and a depth of 72 feet, arranged so that a full-sized circus could be placed upon it, which was often done, and at the rear there was stabling for horses and wild animals. On ascending the main staircases, past the cloakrooms, on the next floor there was a magnificent Ballroom where 1,000 couples could dance on the beautiful parquet floor, supported springs making dancing delightfully easy. Above the Ballroom was the Elevator Hall, surrounded by fancy shops, and fitted with numerous amusing automatic machines such as the first motion picture machine 'The Veriscope'. On one side was the shooting Jungle, and on the opposite side the Aviary, holding a large collection of beautiful birds, and the African Monkey House. Auxiliary lifts ran free all day from the ground floor to the Elevator Hall and from there the main lifts ascended to the Top of the Tower where, standing 621 feet above sea level, there was a magnificent view of landscape and seascape.
As there was no winter entertainment, the owners of the Tower built, adjacent to the Tower Building, an Athletic Ground. The centre of the arena was used to stage football matches as well as many other spectacular events including a Wild West Show from May to October 1908. There was also an inside track used for athletics and a banked track where the World Cycling Championships were held in July 1922. There was even a Stadium with a seating capacity of 8,000, though football matches drew in less than 1,000 spectators.
Upon the erection of this magnificent structure, New Brighton reaped enormous benefits from the influx of visitors who poured in daily during the season, and from what was practically a small village now sprung a town with fine residential property, as well as plenty of comfortable apartments at reasonable charges comparing favourably with similar seaside resorts, where visitors would find no difficulty in obtaining suitable accommodation. It is is claimed that in the first year of its opening it attracted more than half a million visitors to the top of the Tower and at night it was illuminated by fairy lights. From the 1880s until the First World War, New Brighton was also one of the regular destinations for the Bass Burton Brewery Excursions, when fifteen trains would take 8-9000 employees of the Brewery on an annual trip from Burton-on Trent to Liverpool and New Brighton.
Tragically the tower was neglected following its closure during the first World War and the steel structure was not maintained, it became rusty and began to decay, causing the tower to be dismantled between 1919 and 1921. Underneath however, The Tower Ballroom on the promenade fared better, and was used for nearly 50 years. Capable of holding up to 5,000 people it will always be remembered on Merseyside as one of the premier music venues, the place being cavernous, consisting of a wonderfully high ceiling, huge dance floor with banquettes all around the perimeter. During the 1960s, with the emerging Liverpool Sound, the venue was re-discovered and reinvigorated as Sam Leach, the visionary Liverpool promoter, presented a series of spectacular 'Operation Big Beats at The Tower'. The first began on the 10th of November 1961 drawing in an audience of 3,000 people with The Beatles playing there 27 times, more than any other venue except the Cavern Club.
The Floral Pavilion was opened on the 3rd of May 1913 by Lord Derby as part of the Victoria Gardens complex. The site once occupied by the infamous 'Ham & Eggs Parade' (Aquarium Parade), so called because day trippers could buy ham or eggs in any one of the cafes on the parade. Originally built in two parts in 1872-73, The Parade consisted of a large terraced four storey building with cafes and shops with the Bon Marche at the end and was also called 'Tea Pot Row' as visitors purchased cups of tea there. On the lower parade there were amusement arcades, Pearson's Oyster Store and other shops and above there was a large parade with railings and some seats. On the lower sea wall there were wooden seats and steps down to the beach. The Tivoli Theatre was opened on the Tower Promenade at the foot of Egerton Street on the 6th of April 1914 with Lily Langtry topping the bill. The theatre was close to the Pier with shops facing the River Mersey and an open-air cafe above. In later years the theatre was transformed into an amusement arcade but by the 1970s it was boarded up and in 1976 was demolished after suffering a fire.
The Old Palace Theatre was built in 1880 with Salt baths being added in 1881 together with other amusements, including a concert room, skating rink, dancing saloon, aquarium, greenhouses and a theatre. Operettas and musical plays, some by London companies, were also performed there and by 1889 it had the largest plunge baths in the country. The building caught fire on the 22nd of April 1916 with only the theatre and the skating rink saved. The site was split up into a least two parts, the theatre being run by a Mr Blattner and rest of the site by Mr George Wilkie before it was decided to close the Palace Theatre after its final performance on the 11th of December 1926. Soon afterwards it was demolished and a car park occupied the site until August 1939 when Wilke's Palace Amusements opened. George Wikie and his brother had worked in a Birkenhead Rope Factory where they had fixed a rope from the factory roof dropping into bails of hay and used their trouser belts to slide down the rope, becoming the original invention of an Aerial Ropeway. The two brothers then set up similar systems to operate at the summer season Fairground coming to New Brighton and it became so popular with the Fairground that they asked the brothers to travel with them for 12 years. George Wilkie's inventions and amusements had proved hugely popular on the old Palace site and the indoor fairground became very successful as many came in to shelter from the bad weather from the outdoor fairground and Pier in waht was now a bustling holiday destination.
When the local council made plans for the promenade to extend onto the sand, this proved to be the perfect opportunity for Will Wilkie, George's nephew, to build the New Palace Amusement Centre which was completed in 1939 at a cost of £11,000. However, shortly after work was completed, the war broke out and the army used parts of the building as a storage depot and munitions factory. Nevertheless it ran very successfully up until the mid 1960s before customer numbers started to drop due to the increasingly popular 'package holidays' abroad, which families were taking in place of British holidays. The Fairground had remained, as did the Ballroom and other surrounding features, until its final fate during the fire of 1969. The Old English Fairground was on a higher level, which, in later years, became the motor coach park. The Himalayan Switchback Railway was a great favourite, as was the water chute, with the boats travelling down at speed into the lake. By 1961, the New Brighton Fairground had changed significantly, with several new rides and sideshows.
New Brighton Bathing Pool, of Art Deco architecture, was opened on the 13th of June 1934 by Lord Leverhulme at a cost of £103,240 and was the largest aquatic stadium the world with 12,000 people attending the opening.
The Pool was designed to allow for Championship swimming events, on the south being 165 ft (32 laps to one mile) by 60 ft. The central part of the Pool for general swimming was 330 ft by 60 ft (16 laps to the mile) with the overall measurements of the Pool; 6,500 square feet, 330 feet by 225 feet wide. On the north side the shallow area was 330 feet by 105 feet with the Pool able to hold 4000 bathers and some 20,000 spectators. The depth of the Pool had an average of 5 feet, but at the diving end was 15 feet deep.
The Baths were also famous for annual events that were held within the complex, most notably the 'Miss New Brighton' contest which started in 1949. Among the winners of Miss New Brighton was Violet Petty who became the holder of the title in 1950, entering whilst on a day trip from Birmingham at the age of 18, and later became known to millions as Anne Heywood, the Rank film actress. The saltwater pool survived until 1990, when it was damaged during a storm and later demolished.
Ferries across the Mersey to New Brighton ceased in 1971, after which the ferry pier and landing stage were dismantled. By 1977, the promenade pier had suffered the same fate
Sadly, by the late 1980s, New Brighton had very little to offer as a holiday resort and went into decline but since 2009 the difference made by the building of Marine Point - a now-renowned development that saw a large Morrison's supermarket, Starbucks and more occupy huge waterfront sites at the north-western tip of the Wirral peninsula, has led to a resurgence in the resort. It is now becoming once again an established tourist attraction, awash with colourful street art and thriving small businesses - once more capitalising upon trade from visitors and local residents alike.
see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2021/02/ferry-cross-mersey-to-place-i-love.html
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