The Ballroom Heritage

Built in 1894, The Blackpool Tower is one of the most iconic buildings in the UK

Becoming one of Britain’s best-loved landmarks, it houses five amazing attractions, perfect for a fun-packed day for all to enjoy.

• The original Blackpool Tower Ballroom was a smaller pavilion which opened in August 1894. Its stage was on the south side of the room
• The Ballroom floor measures 120 feet by 102 feet. It comprises 30,602 separate blocks of mahogany, oak and walnut
• Phil Kelsall has played the organ at the Blackpool Tower since 1975. He began playing in the Circus. Phill Kelsaal still plays the organ in The Blackpool Tower Ballroom to this day
• The inscription above the Ballroom stage, “Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear”, is from a sonnet by Shakespeare – Venus and Adonis
• Each of the large crystal chandeliers in the Ballroom can be lowered to the floor and takes over a week to clean
• The present Ballroom was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1899
• The first Wurlitzer organ was installed in the Ballroom in 1929. It was replaced in 1935 with one to Reginald Dixon’s specification
• Excluding his time in the RAF during World War Two, Reginald Dixon played the Ballroom’s Wurlitzer organ from 1930 until his retirement in 1969. He returned for a farewell concert in 1970 to mark 40 years at the Blackpool Tower
• Among the Ballroom’s one-time strict rules were:- “Gentlemen may not dance unless with a lady” and “disorderly conduct means immediate expulsion”
• The names of 16 composers are to be found around the Ballroom
• In December 1956, the Ballroom was badly damaged by fire, during which the dance floor was destroyed, along with the restaurant below. It took two years and £500,000 to restore the Ballroom to its former splendour. The restaurant became the Tower Lounge
• Originally, dancing was not permitted on Sundays. Instead of dancing, an evening of sacred music was performed