Thursday, 23 September 2010
Summerland was opened on 25 May 1971. A climate-controlled building
covering 3.5 acres (14,000 m2) on Douglas's waterfront, consisting of
50,000 sq ft (4,600 m2) of floor area at a cost of £ 2 million.
Summerland was designed to accommodate up to 10,000 tourists and
comprised a dance area, five floors of holiday games, restaurants and
public bars. It was a 1960s concrete
design incorporating advanced controlled internal climate, built with
novel construction techniques using new plastic materials. The street
frontage and part of the roof was clad in Oroglas, a transparent acrylic
glass sheeting.
The Summerland disaster occurred when a fire spread through the Summerland leisure centre in Douglas on the Isle of Man on the night of 2 August 1973. 50 people were killed and 80 seriously injured.
The Summerland disaster occurred when a fire spread through the Summerland leisure centre in Douglas on the Isle of Man on the night of 2 August 1973. 50 people were killed and 80 seriously injured.
3 comments:
Between Channels23 September 2010 at 20:57I never thought I'd see the word 'oroglass' again. Fascinating and truly tragic, thanks for posting.Reply
The Isle of Man has an incendiary past:Reply
http://www.iomfire.com/bygone%20years.htm
I was a 9-year old on a caravan holiday in Whitby with my parents when this happened. I had nightmares about burning molten plastic (oroglass?) dripping into my hair.Reply
