South Parade Pier Southsea

Shot today at Southsea beach. The South Parade Pier is a pier in Portsmouth, England. It is one of two piers in the city, the other being Clarence Pier. The pier once had a long hall down its centre which housed a seating area and a small restaurant. pier was built between 1875 and 1878 to the design of G.Rale. It was opened in 1879 by Princess Saxe-Weimar. Initially, its main purpose was as a steamer jetty for Isle of Wight passengers. In 1904, a serious fire resulted in a complete rebuild. The ‘replacement’ pier opened to a length of 600 feet in 1908. It had been designed by local architect G.E.Smith and cost £85,000. It had a concrete deck and windscreens protecting visitors on all sides. A spacious pavilion contained two halls: one housed a 1200 seat theatre, the other serving as a cafe during the day and a dance hall at night. At the seaward end, a similar pavilion incorporated a bar and lounge. The theatre was damaged by fire in 1966 and was removed the following year. A further blaze in 1974 (during the filming of ‘Tommy’) badly affected the pier, which re-opened the following year after a £500,000 rebuild. The large pavilion, less grand than previously, now houses showbars (one of which can hold 800) and amusements. filmed on a Dji Mavic Pro Edited on iMovie