Spanish City
| The Spanish City | |
|---|---|
Photographed in September 2010 by Adam G. Bell
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| Alternative names | Whitley Bay Pleasure Gardens |
| General information | |
| Status | Grade II listed building (the dome) |
| Address | Watts Road, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, England |
| Coordinates | 55°02′51″N 1°26′51″W / 55.047616°N 1.44747°WCoordinates: 55°02′51″N 1°26′51″W / 55.047616°N 1.44747°W |
| Opened | 7 May 1910 |
| Client | Whitley Bay Pleasure Gardens Ltd |
| Owner | North Tyneside Council (June 2011) |
| Dimensions | |
| Diameter | 180 ft long, 275 ft deep |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Cackett and Burns Dick |
| Structural engineer | L.G. Mouchel |
| Main contractor | Davidson and Miller |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect | ADP Architects |
| Renovating firm | Robertson, Gateshead |
| Website | |
| Spanish City, ADP Architects | |
The Spanish City was a permanent funfair in Whitley Bay, a seaside town in North Tyneside, Tyne & Wear, England. Erected as a smaller version of Blackpool's Pleasure Beach, it opened in 1910 as a concert hall, restaurant, roof garden and tearoom. A ballroom was added in 1920, and later the funfair.
Located near the seafront, the Spanish City has a 180 ft-long (54.8 m) Renaissance-style frontage and became known for its distinctive dome, now a Grade II listed building. There are towers on either side of the entrance, each of which carries a half-life-size female bacchanalian figure in lead, one holding cymbals, the other a tambourine. The building's architects were Robert Burns Dick, Charles T. Marshall and James Cackett.
The band Dire Straits immortalized the Spanish City in their 1980 hit single, "Tunnel of Love", which from then on was played every morning when the park opened. By the late 1990s the building had fallen into disrepair, and in the early 2000s it was closed to the public. A regeneration project was announced in 2011.
The Spanish City faces the sea, with a 180 ft-long front and a depth of 275 ft. The dome rises to 75 ft above the foundation and has a diameter of 50 ft, supported on 46-ft-high concrete columns. It is made of a reinforced-concrete shell, five inches thick, which is supported by 12 (10 in x 18 in) internal ribs.
The architects were Robert Burns Dick, Charles T. Marshall, and James Cackett) of Cackett and Burns Dick. J. Coulson was a design consultant and L. G. Mouchel were structural consultants. Davidson and Miller were the contractors.
Charles Elderton, of Hebburn Theatre Royal, first brought his Toreadors concert party to Whitley Bay in 1907 (other references say 1904). The audience was protected from the elements by awnings painted to look like a Spanish village. Proving extremely popular it returned each summer and Elderton saw that there was demand for more permanent amusements and dance halls. Elderton began Whitley Amusements Ltd and the company steadily built up a fairground inside the painted fences The Whitley Pleasure Gardens Company Ltd. was formed in 1909 and established a large fairground on the site. The dome was erected in 1910.
The building was formally opened by Robert Mason, chair of the local council, on the evening of Saturday, 7 May 1910, as The Spanish City and Whitley Bay Pleasure Gardens. The Union Jack was flown at half mast because King Edward VII had died the previous day. There were shops and cafes inside, a roof garden, and the Empress Theatre, with seating for 1,400 on the floor and 400 on the balcony. The Empress Ballroom was added in 1920, and the Rotunda in 1921. In 1979 the Rotunda was converted into the Starlight Rooms for live entertainment.
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Wikipedia