Southport Pier
Encyclopedia
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, England. At 1,216 yards (1112 m) it is the second longest in Great Britain after Southend Pier
Southend Pier
Southend Pier is a major landmark in Southend-on-Sea. Extending into the Thames Estuary, it is the longest pleasure pier in the world. Sir John Betjeman once said that "the Pier is Southend, Southend is the Pier". The pier is a Grade II listed building....
. The Southport Pier Tramway
Southport Pier Tramway
The Southport Pier Tramway is a tramway in the English seaside resort of Southport. It runs the length of Southport Pier, providing public passenger transport to the pier head.-History:...
runs from Southport Promenade to the pier head (the far end of the pier).
Recent modernisation and repair of the pier formed part of a wider redevelopment strategy, including the new Marine Drive sea wall, landscaping around the pier and the new tram route, and the new £23m Ocean Plaza shopping centre - which presents a blank back wall on the seaward side. Completion was in 2002.
The pier is a completely open structure, with modern railings on an older base, and a deck made of hardwood slats, affording a partial view of the sea below. Plans to restore the Victorian shelters along its length remain just plans.
The modern structure at the pier head, the Pavilion, was designed by Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
architects Shed KM. The building houses a cafeteria with airport style floor to ceiling windows overlooking the beach and a collection of vintage mechanical amusement machines, re-creating a traditional pier-end penny arcade
Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade may refer to:* Penny arcade, a venue for coin-operated devices* Penny Arcade ** Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, a series of video games based on the webcomic...
. The age of the machines is such that they operate on pre-decimalisation
Decimalisation
Decimal currency is the term used to describe any currency that is based on one basic unit of currency and a sub-unit which is a power of 10, most commonly 100....
pennies, which can be purchased on-site (£1 buys 10 old pennies).