The Pier Story.

Blackpool's first pier. Still standing.

North Pier opened on 21 May 1863. Designed by Eugenius Birch, the same engineer behind Brighton West Pier, Hastings and Margate. Built on cast-iron screw piles driven into the seabed. Admission on opening day was two old pence.

160 years in the making.

1863

North Pier opens on 21 May. Designed by Eugenius Birch, it is Blackpool's first pier.

Victorian era

The pier develops as a place for promenading, music, sea air and views across the Irish Sea.

1939

A new theatre opens at the pier head, continuing North Pier's long association with live entertainment.

1975

North Pier is added to the statutory list and is now protected as a Grade II listed structure.

Today

The pier remains a defining part of Blackpool's seafront and an important piece of British seaside heritage.

North Pier through the years.

An engraving showing the opening procession at Blackpool North Pier — The opening of North Pier in 1863.

A sepia historic photograph of Blackpool North Pier from the promenade — A later nineteenth-century view of North Pier from the promenade.

An illustrated scene of crowds arriving at Blackpool North Pier — The early years of Blackpool North Pier.

A historic photograph of the entrance and theatre buildings on North Pier — The pier entrance and theatre buildings.

A 1902 postcard showing Blackpool North Pier — North Pier in a 1902 postcard.

A 1914 postcard showing North Pier from Princess Parade — North Pier from Princess Parade in 1914.

A 1915 postcard showing Blackpool North Pier — North Pier in a 1915 postcard.

The wreck of HMS Foudroyant on Blackpool beach near North Pier — The wreck of HMS Foudroyant off Blackpool in 1897.

Still going.

The pier has outlasted the entertainment fashions that nearly finished it off in the 1980s and 90s. It is now under new ownership, with a restored theatre, a functioning event space and a programme being built to match the ambition of the building.