Great that the Wintergardens are being renovated and brought up to date, but as others, I think that the exterior could have been more sympathetically designed to complement the original buildings.
The inside of the conference centre looks better than outside. It's a shame they couldn't blend in with building surrounding it. Can't wait until the next part.
As a sandgrown’un who hasn’t lived in Blackpool for many years, I love this - thank you for sharing. I’m also intrigued by the very first image which appears to show my great grandparents’ florist’s shop to the right of the grand pavilion awning!
Said before and will say again you should be a TV producer , film maker, director.. etc. this was first class film. Absolutely amazing. . So enjoyable and educational. Thank you,
Carriage entrance? The original entrance to the Empress ballroom leads through the archway you see on the front of the Empress Buildings in St Johns Square. You walked in through the tiled entrance arch (now Quilligans cafe) and through the Italian gardens. The entrance to the ballroom was double doors from where you can see the doors now, into a vestibule area which still exists (though much altered) offset to the stage. Either side of the vestibule were cloakrooms. The area above the vestibule (which is now a bar/cafe) was an outdoor terrace overlooking the Italian gardens, with doors leading to that at either end of the ballroom on the north side. In the 1930 update to the ballroom, this area was enclosed and became a refreshment area as we see it today.
Winter Gardens is so big!! Good to.make use of it all.i do like mix of old and new.i know in 100 years the new conference rooms will be like how I know it now as I grew up.great video yet again.thank you👍
Turning into another cracking series this, Darren - thanks. Leopold car park has always been the one I've used when visiting Blackpool - it'll be a shame if it disappears under a hotel. Can't argue that the new conference centre makes a much nicer frontage on that road than the grim shut-down shops that were there last time I called by. Hopefully, their plans stretch to replacing that weird portacabin-like construction down the back of the Empress with something a bit more substantial looking..
I think the hotel will have a car park underneath with more spaces. Yes it looks much better now. The back of empress has also been done or is currently getting done it will look much better with an outdoor terrace from the ballroom.
Wow!! Is this an exclusive?? Not seen anyone get inside the new conference centre before with a camera. It is a great addition to the Winter Gardens and I really hope this will now see the return of major conferences to Blackpool. I see the Tory Party are already in on it..... Ah well, any storm in a port ;-) Absolutely brilliant video. Many thanks.
Another great video and very informative Darren. I'm in Blackpool in 4 weeks time so i will be having a mooch around there as i have never been there on my previous visits there.
Darren, the image you got at 1:02 really shows the "Old" and the "New," good job. I know some like only "NEW" and some say, "Save all the old, no changes." It looks like what being done at Winter Gardens is make both sides happy with a good blend of old and new. But for me I like the old with Mod-Con's added in, who wants to heat a room with a coal fire or go to work in a car with a hand start crank, no seat belts and only rear mechanical brakes. Love the excitement you show over your local history. The Rollercoaster?????
Well done for getting such early 'privileged access' to the Conference Centre, I think though that "Seamlessly slots between...." is an architectural oxymoron 🤣it's hardly seamless I would say it brutally slots between....... 😄. TBH it does not look that large and I'm surprised that there are not similar sized conference spaces in other towns (Liverpool / Manchester?) That said I'm sure that being in Blackpool will give it an attractiveness for visitors from other parts of the UK and it looks like it has a sufficient quantity of tech for organisers to play with. Can't wait to see the upcoming videos and what appears to be a walk around the really interesting service areas of the Winter Gardens - all to often people focus on the glitzy bit's and never venture into the underworld where real magic (as opposed to illusionary magic), occurs.
So great to see that! Blackpool is synonymous with conferences and this facility looks like it takes that to a new level, and as you say it’s an ultra modern addition to an important historic building blending the old with the new seamlessly! Another great video - it’s a 10 from me! 😀
Looks amazing inside... I must agree the outside looks a wee bit out of sync but that's just the way architecture goes... Also have an more of an interest this year in the ballroom as I'm competing in a charity version of strictly in the highlands of Scotland x
@@AdventureMe well found out it is getting used as part of Rebellion Festival that's where the literally stage is so John Robb's punk interviews will be done there
No I don't think they will. Too many people like it, and you can tell by the money they spend on preserving it. But you can have both along side each other.
Hi Darren, good to see they are dragging the WG into the new era. However I'm still out on whether it pays homage enough to the existing WG, it looks a tad too utilitarian internal black walls and black roof, not a hint of gilt anywhere 😱 Let's hope the political parties are enticed enough to return as B/pool certainly needs a kick up the arse with all its social depravation? Cheers DougT in Mancs.
The black and plain walls is what the companies want. A blank canvas so to speak. The other rooms have the charm if they want that too. They were setting up for the political parties whilst I was there. They are back.
To be fair the Italian gardens have been gone for over 100 years. It's better than the car park that stood before it. And it will do the job it was built for.
The only problem is Blackpool Council have failed once again, to think about disabled access with regards this newly opened 30 Million Pound Wintergardens Conference Centre, they have failed to comply with existing Disability Planning and Building Regulations, especially for Sensory impaired disabled people. Has the Wintergarden Conference Center, produced A Disability Equality Impact Assessment's (D-EIA's) Report on this new building and facilities it provides too? Because someone needs to point out to Guide Dogs and RNIB, plus other disability national charities, their own Disability Access Officers need to take a close look at this new Blackpool Council owned Conference Centre, as there appeals from your video tour, there is going to be clear disabled access issues and Disabled Discrimination Complaints made too, by disabled visitors to it. Namaste Gurkhamum Wendy and Wheelchaircharlie39 David disability rights campaigners, Please to those making these video tour films, when making your next video tour of the Winter Gardens, think about all types of disabled access? Especially for physically and sensory disabled people, or those with learning difficulties too, as 1-in-5 of the UK population and by 2030 this will increased to 1-in-4 of the UK population, around 17.2 to 17.3 million UK citizens will be classed as vulnerable disabled and chronically ill or elderly residents this increasing to over 20 million by 2035 some experts say. Something once again Blackpool Council, its Officers and Councillors, have once again appealed not to have provided for, or just forgotten to allow for, even though they were warned about disabled access issues!
I don't understand. It has ramps and lifts for access. It's step free as far as wheelchairs go. The blind and deaf facilities, I don't understand enough to comment on what they have.
That new conference center looks like shit and totally out of place, i wish the Winter Gardens would have remained the way it was in the early 1900's before all that other stuff was added in the 30's ruining the looks from the outside. The italian garden and the gardens around the horseshoe should have been kept the way it was.
