We're Still Here! LGBTQIA+ heritage exhibitions
Two exhibitions at Showtown and the Grundy drawing on community memories and archive photos, planned for February to June 2027.
Bank Hey Street
Behind the Tower, with Showtown and its Pride Beside the Seaside tours, and the Tower's step-free entrance.
Bank Hey Street is one of the town's main shopping streets, running behind Blackpool Tower and pedestrianised from Albert Road to Church Street. It was probably laid out by the 1830s. Don't confuse it with Banks Street in the Rainbow Quarter, further north.
Showtown
Showtown, Blackpool's museum of fun and entertainment, is on Bank Hey Street (FY1 4TQ), next door but one to the Tower. It opened in March 2024 and covers circus, magic, dance, variety and the Illuminations. It has made queer stories part of its programme, with Pride Beside the Seaside tours covering Vesta Tilley, Colonel Barker, Funny Girls and more. See Vesta Tilley and the male impersonators and heritage projects.
The Tower
The back of the Grade I listed Tower Buildings fills the west side of the street. The Tower's step-free entrance is here: a gentle slope, automatic doors and level access to the ticket desk, whereas the Promenade entrance has steps and a platform lift.
Getting here
The Tower and North Pier tram stops are both a few minutes away. From Blackpool North station, walk down to Church Street and turn right.
What's on at Bank Hey Street
More about Bank Hey Street on this site
- The Promenade and the North Pier end
- Colonel Barker and the Golden Mile Sideshows
- Vesta Tilley and the Male Impersonators
- We're Still Here! LGBTQIA+ heritage exhibitions
- LGBTQ+ heritage projects in Blackpool
Sources
- Showtown: the site
- Wikipedia: Showtown Blackpool
- AccessAble: Blackpool Tower Circus
- Blackpool Council: extended town centre conservation area appraisal
More streets
Abingdon StreetThe historic shopping street, a Be Who You Want To Be priority street, with the market and the listed old post office.Topping StreetBetween Talbot Road and Church Street, with Churchills, Aunty Social and the memory of Sapphires.Church StreetThe town's theatre street, with the Winter Gardens, the Grand Theatre and Viva, plus the Horizon drug service.Charles StreetJust east of the station in the town centre, with the W3 Complex men's sauna.Buchanan StreetA town-centre link between Talbot Road and Church Street, with busy bus stops.Edward StreetHome of the local Samaritans branch, with a rare 1860s terrace behind Abingdon Street.Adelaide StreetThe south side of the Winter Gardens, and the name of an LGBT quality-mark GP practice.Elizabeth StreetJust east of the station, with Adelaide Street Family Practice at number 61.South King StreetHome of South King Street Medical Centre, a GP practice with the LGBT inclusion quality mark.Chapel StreetBy Central Pier and the Central car park, and the 1970s home of a shop called Gone Gay.Central DriveFrom the Tower area towards Bloomfield Road, home of the organisation behind the town's LGBT youth groups.Every streetThe full list, from the quarter to Bispham and South Shore.