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Architect: Frank Matcham
First Opened: 20th May 1899 (126 years ago)
Website: theblackpooltower.com
Telephone: 01253 622242
Address: Blackpool Tower, The Promenade, Blackpool FY1 4BJ
The Blackpool Tower Ballroom opened in May 1899, designed by renowned theatre architect Frank Matcham.
The Tower Ballroom in the UK seaside town of Blackpool was designed by UK theatre architect Frank Matcham. The lavish ballroom, which includes a stage, opened at the start of the 1899 summer season and was in part a response to the lavish Empress Ballroom opened at the Blackpool Winter Gardens complex just up the street.
Matcham’s ballroom featured a sliding roof for ventilation, side galleries on two levels, plus a "grand circle" viewing area at one end of the ballroom reminiscent of a theatre balcony. The venue also featured a 3-manual, 14-rank Wurlitzer theatre organ (opus 2187) designed by renowned UK theatre organist Reginald Dixon.
The Tower Ballroom is now part of the Historic England Grade I listed Blackpool Tower complex. The ballroom is often featured in the BBC’s "Strictly Come Dancing" series, running since 2004.
Until recently, the Tower Ballroom has universally been quoted as "opening in 1899". Following much research, we’ve discovered that the Tower Ballroom opened on Saturday 20th May 1899, just in time for the Whitsuntide holiday which, at the time, signaled the start of the Summer season in the UK’s seaside towns. Whitsuntide, celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter and therefore a moveable holiday depending on the annual calendar, fell out of favour when the UK replaced it in 1972 with the Spring Bank Holiday, fixing the date for the holiday as the last Monday in May.
These limited, intimate tours allow you to embark on a historical journey of discovery of the renowned Victorian building, including the Ballroom, Circus, and more! Our guides will give you an insight into how this stunning Grade I listed building was created and the incredible stories it has witnessed, from the magnificence of the Ballroom to the sheer splendour of the Circus. Our guides will take you behind the scenes, reveal hidden secrets and tell forgotten tales as you embark on your Blackpool Tower Heritage Tour.
Tours take place on some Wednesdays, and most Saturdays and Sundays at 10am. Tour cost £15, which includes a full day entry ticket onto the Ballroom balcony. Your ticket also gives you 50% off Ballroom ground floor entry. To check availability by date and to book online visit The Blackpool Tower’s Tours page .
Photographs copyright © 2002-2025 Mike Hume / Historic Theatre Photos unless otherwise noted.
Text copyright © 2017-2025 Mike Hume / Historic Theatre Photos.
For photograph licensing and/or re-use contact me here .
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