The Secret Life of The Bus Station, 1999

  This is the old Talbot Road bus station or Interchange which disgorged Blackpool's visitors from all points across the UK into the town. 

Built in 1939 it was a straight up and down concrete Modernist construction with a four storey car park which cost £162000. 

It was considered architecturally adventurous at the time because it foresaw a future where visitors would arrive by road rather than rail.

Whoever drew up the plans is lost to memory but they had the foresight to build the ceilings high enough to accommodate the largest of the double decker behemoths that came in from Glasgow and Aberystwyth.

It was re-clad with a concrete screed in the 1960s to tidy it up, but if you looked carefully you could still see traces of the older building it was developed from. 

Below you can see some graffiti from 1936 and slightly less obvious 1921 which became visible when some of the fascia fell off after a harsh winter. 

Apart from the comings and goings of commuters and trippers the place had a secret life which mainly occurred out of hours when it served as a meeting place for teenage lovers, hookers, punters, dealers and casual rent-boys.

Apparently, due to a dispute in 2002 buses don't stop there anymore. The place has been earmarked for demolition as part of one of those regeneration projects that look fabulous on paper and impress civic leaders but no-one else.

As far I know it's still there.

You can see my other entries on the bus station here & here.