I am writing this because I am a gay man who goes out in Blackpool on a regular basis and is interested in the history, and future useage of old buildings. The Odeon on Dickinson Road is of particular interest to me because I go there regularly.
Since it closed down as a cinema it had gone into disrepair, but due to the future regeneration of some areas of Blackpool it was aquired, by In the pink leisure, who already had several bars and clubs in the area, most of which were in the redevelopment area, The old Funny Girls, Basils on the Strand, Flamingo night club, and The Flying handbag pub. The first phase was to create the new Funny Girls,which is located through the front entrance as can be seen by the phots on this link:-http://www.funnygirlsshowbar.co.uk/pictures.asp?album_id=7 . The other part of phase 1 was to move Basils on the Strand, which became Bar B this is located upstairs from a side entrance on queen street.
Mr Newby of ITP Leisure must be respectfull of the architechture as he has endeavoured to preserve as much as he could in the redevelopment of this old building.
The second phase which was the biggest and has taken over 5 years to complete, was the relocation of the Flamingo Night club, This night club has been at the top of Talbot road for 26 years. It started its life as a small upstairs venue, gradually over the years becoming one of if not the largest gay night club in the uk, it is loved by many thousands of people worldwide.
A lot of people did not think it would survive a move of this size, especially into a complex, and no one knew what to expect. I can say I was very surprised by the results, although it has been dramatically changed from a cinema almost all of the architechtural features still reside in the new club, including all the Art Deco lights have been given a new lease of life, and look fantastic.
I feel that what Mr Newby and his company have achieved is outstanding and will preserve the use of this grand old building for many years to come, it will nolonger go into disrepair, and eventually be demolished, instead it will continue to bring enjoyment and entertainment to many thousands of people and the building will be known worldwide.
you can see pictures of the Flamingo and Art deco lights a :– http://www.gayzout.co.uk/flamingohome.html
I hope this is ok
all the best
richy b
I am writing this because I am a gay man who goes out in Blackpool on a regular basis and is interested in the history, and future useage of old buildings. The Odeon on Dickinson Road is of particular interest to me because I go there regularly.
Since it closed down as a cinema it had gone into disrepair, but due to the future regeneration of some areas of Blackpool it was aquired, by In the pink leisure, who already had several bars and clubs in the area, most of which were in the redevelopment area, The old Funny Girls, Basils on the Strand, Flamingo night club, and The Flying handbag pub. The first phase was to create the new Funny Girls,which is located through the front entrance as can be seen by the phots on this link:-http://www.funnygirlsshowbar.co.uk/pictures.asp?album_id=7 . The other part of phase 1 was to move Basils on the Strand, which became Bar B this is located upstairs from a side entrance on queen street.
Mr Newby of ITP Leisure must be respectfull of the architechture as he has endeavoured to preserve as much as he could in the redevelopment of this old building.
The second phase which was the biggest and has taken over 5 years to complete, was the relocation of the Flamingo Night club, This night club has been at the top of Talbot road for 26 years. It started its life as a small upstairs venue, gradually over the years becoming one of if not the largest gay night club in the uk, it is loved by many thousands of people worldwide.
A lot of people did not think it would survive a move of this size, especially into a complex, and no one knew what to expect. I can say I was very surprised by the results, although it has been dramatically changed from a cinema almost all of the architechtural features still reside in the new club, including all the Art Deco lights have been given a new lease of life, and look fantastic.
I feel that what Mr Newby and his company have achieved is outstanding and will preserve the use of this grand old building for many years to come, it will nolonger go into disrepair, and eventually be demolished, instead it will continue to bring enjoyment and entertainment to many thousands of people and the building will be known worldwide.
you can see pictures of the Flamingo and Art deco lights a :– http://www.gayzout.co.uk/flamingohome.html
I hope this is ok
all the best
richy b