| |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Statistics | |||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Intamin | ||||||||||
| Product | Gyro Tower | ||||||||||
| Capacity | 50 per cycle | ||||||||||
Polo Tower was an Observation Tower built by Swiss manufacturer Intamin that was previously located at Frontierland Western Theme Park in Morecambe, Lancashire, England, UK. The tower stood at 168 feet tall.
History
The ride was originally built and opened at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK in 1974 as Space Tower.[1][2] It was opened at the park in May 1975 by the Mayor of Blackpool.[3] It would continue to operate until 1993 when it was removed to make room for the construction of the Big One roller coaster, which opened in 1994.
In 1994, the ride was dismantled and relocated to sister park Frontierland Western Theme Park in Morecambe, Lancashire, England, UK.[4] The original plan was to keep the Space Tower name from Blackpool Pleasure Beach and build the ride near the back of the park, but the plans were changed when owners Blackpool Pleasure Beach signed a sponsorship deal with Nestle to rebrand the tower as the Polo Tower, after the confectionary brand Polo. It was then decided to install the ride on the front of the park, next to the promenade.[5]
The ride opened at the park in 1995 and was sponsored by Polo Mints.[6] Prior to it being built and erected at the park in 1993, Blackpool Pleasure Beach owner Geoffrey Thompson signed a contract with a local communication company to use the tower as a telephone mast for 20 years, until at least 2013. It later closed in 1999 as part of the park's gradual downsizing and eventual closure over a three year period.[7] The ride was subsequently left standing but not operating, starting in 2000.
On 22 March 2001, it was confirmed to the public that a family entertainment centre (FEC) would be built and operated by Blackpool Pleasure Beach as part of the former park's redevelopment, similar to the Casablanca family entertainment centre complex at Pleasureland Southport. The Polo Tower, along with the Log Flume were expected to be retained and reopened as part of this development, but this never ended up happening.[8]
In 2008, in preparation for the further redevelopment of the former park site, the ride's cabin was removed in 2008 after falling into disrepair and the tower itself was partially refurbished. This was done in order to continue the signed telephone mast contract, which eventually expired in 2013.
In May 2017, it was confirmed to the public that the ride's dismantling would begin in a few weeks.[9][10] The work was originally supposed to begin on 12 June 2017, but due to weather conditions, the start date of demolition was delayed by a week to 19 June 2017.[11] By 22 June 2017, the tower was completely dismantled and was scrapped.[12]
References
- ↑ "This tower is tops!". Leicester Mercury. 1975-05-20. p. 16. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
- ↑ "Blackpool Pleasure Beach's Space Tower". John Burke's a-Musings.
- ↑ "Space Tower set to come crashing back to earth". The Gazette.
- ↑ "More pictures trace the life of the Polo Tower in Morecambe from start to finish". Lancashire Guardian.
- ↑ "053 The Polo Tower, Morecambe". Flickr. Robert Knight.
- ↑ "Looking Back: the highs and lows of Morecambe's Polo Tower". Lancashire Guardian.
- ↑ "Frontierland Morecambe: How The West Was Lost". Joyland Books.
- ↑ "Frontierland Polo Tower to Stay". Joyland Books.
- ↑ "Polo Tower demolition date set". Lancashire Guardian.
- ↑ "Polo Tower demolition date set" - The Vistor
- ↑ "Morecambe's Polo Tower is being taken down". Lancashire Post.
- ↑ "Morecambe's Polo Tower demolition leaves permanent hole in the horizon". Lancaster Guardian.
External links
- Polo Tower in operation
- Polo Tower standing but not operating in 2008
- Polo Tower standing but not operating in 2016