BLACKPOOL TOWER: A HISTORY (PB)

This is a story of the Victorian entrepreneurship that created Blackpool’s most iconic building and led to Blackpool being the apogee of seaside entertainment. When Blackpool Tower was being built, many people said it would be a failure. John Bickerstaffe nearly went bust building this unique attraction. But under his leadership, the Tower became hugely profitable and went on to acquire the Palace and later the Winter Gardens and Opera House. By the 1930s it was running ballrooms, cinemas, live theatre and the famous Tower Circus.