[1] [2] [3] There were 7 floors in total and the building had a capacity for 5 thousand people. When we finally reached the bottom the firemen were there to guide us out and just as we got outside, the whole place was engulfed by fire. The Majestic. Summerland was a high tech leisure centre that was built in Douglas, on the Isle of Man, and opened in 1971. I made lots of friends both from the island and liverpool. My Uncle and several other "big chaps" hurled themselves against the fire doors to break them down. From pantomime to ballet and live music to musicals. A period semi-detached double fronted town house built circa 1864, set along a quiet cul-de-sac, yet within easy walking distance of the shops and cafes of Parliament Street. As Bob says the smell of the place too & being in there when it was pouring down outside was amazing to us kids. I remember winning a talent contest at Summerland when I was 6 years old.We went to the IOM every year for our summer holidays. Demolition of the site from Oct 2005. There was a lot of excited anticipation before it opened. While children were entertained in the theatre, parents could relax upstairs. StuartI was 9 at the time of the Summerland fire and on holiday with my Mum and Dad staying at the Granada Hotel as we always did then. The fire killed 50 people, eleven of them under the age of twenty. I had the best holidays ever as a kid in IOM , it is a magical place. We never knew if she saved our lives. Bit by bit over the years things would start to disappear, until by the end there was only "Manxland" left, my son really enjoyed palying there with all his cousins & it was a great place for Mums to meet on a Saturday & have a coffee while the kids played, we did that for a lot of years. The street frontage and part of the roof was clad in Oroglas, a transparent acrylic glass sheeting.[5]. The pool was salt water and it made my eyes sting. You were certainly spoilt for choice - you could go swimming in 2 lovely new pools, rollerskate or play a multitude of sports in the massive sports hall, moonwalk in a big white type of enclosed bouncy castle (which like everything in there had a distinctive new smell). County: . Experts into wreckage of building 4. We went to the shops on the prom and I still have Minnie the clockwork mouse to this day. I was one of the worst things that has ever happened on our small Island and none of us will ever forget the event. There were posters everywhere and everyone was talking about it. was the development of an entertainment complex, which was completed in 1970. While many escaped the inferno unharmed, the incident claimed 50 lives and seriously injured 80. We stayed for a week and on all of the 4 nights preceding the evening of the disaster I had been to the complex for a swim and play around with new-found friends. . The centre reopened in June 1978. Just a stump of a diving board and the deep end of the Aquadrome pool, now home to about twenty billion pigeons The Brutalist concrete exterior concealed a range of sports and leisure facilities, all very wholesome and family-oriented. The fire spread to the wall's interior soundproofing material, which was highly combustible, causing an intense fire that ignited the flammable acrylic sheeting that covered the rest of the building. Looking at the picture of the pool makes me sad!! 05 Apr 2023 - 16 Apr 2023. Lots of wildlife viewing!! In June of 1832, Cholera arrived on the Isle of Man. My uncle saw someone he knew from our home town (Widnes) whose hotel was closer than ours, and he was able to phone family at home to say we were OK just as the story was coming on the news.We were all OK, apart from my uncle's cracked ribs from charging at the fire door, but the horror of the evening is still with me such that even lighting a candle is something I struggle to do and I always check out fire exits when I'm somewhere new. I do recall entering a talent competition and singing 'I'm a little teapot'. "Services weren't equipped for Summerland disaster", "Article about the disaster based on the report by Dr Ian Philips", "Remembering the Summerland fire disaster, 40 years on", "Isle of Man 'shame' over Summerland fire disaster", "Remembering The Summerland Disaster 40 Years On", "Asbestos information centretrade names", "Summerland fire survivor: 'I don't blame dad for saving my sister and leaving me in blaze but I never got to tell him', "Summerland fire: Fifty victims remembered on anniversary", "Summerland disaster survivor: 'I still dream of people in flames', "THE SUMMERLAND SITE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY", "Summerland fire memorial built to mark 40th anniversary", "Summerland fire victims remembered on 40th anniversary", 1972 amateur film of pre-disaster Summerland, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Summerland_disaster&oldid=1142829611, Fire disasters involving barricaded escape routes, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 16:12. Flora Mcintyre i remembr 1968-69 , I worked at White City on the Isle of Man , they were the eight best years of my life. Summerland. I remember the music and noise of people just enjoying themselves. Summerland was rebuilt, but staff and visitors to the site reported the sounds of screaming, hearing footsteps along empty passages, and occasionally seeing ghostly people wandering around the area. 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. I had a great time. I would like to see an ice-skating rink there (which the Island needs). 3. ws firemen in orange coats looking at building. A Cafe. LOCATION From the Sea Terminal proceed the length of the Promenade. A recent trip to Isle of Man brought back many happy memories but I was sad to see that not only had Summerlands closed but the building was completly gone.Some people said I was daft as there was no pool on the prominade but my memories of that place will never disappear. And the name, it was just called the summerland play area, or Barry Nobles arcade before that (not to be confused with the one that was opposite Woolworths) [14] No specific individuals or groups were blamed and the deaths were attributed to misadventure, although the delay in evacuation and the flammable building materials were condemned. The ghost walk at Castle Rushen is said to be one of the best on the island and can be booked here. Most of week had been spent at the evening disco and I still have photos and the weekly ticket from our good times there. The Summerland site is to go on sale after Manx government attempts to find a private development partner failed. Summerland was such a great place to hang out and I would guess that most of the Isle of Man population that was around at the time of the fire is still in shock. It was a lovely place but it's so sad the way it all ended. Now it's completely gone & it is a shame but they will hopefully put something back there for the manx & visitors to enjoy & make their amemories last a lifetime too. On 17 September 1973, three Liverpool boys two of them 12 and the other 14 appeared before Douglas Juvenile Court and admitted wilfully and unlawfully damaging the lock of a plastic kiosk next to Summerland. Most of week had been spent at the evening disco and I still have photos and the weekly ticket from our good times there. I lost a couple of pals in the fire. "A good batter, a tasty sauce, and the excellent fried rice with chives.". Douglas (Man The scale of the fire has been compared to those seen during the Blitz. A lot of people on the Island will never forget what happened on 2nd August 1973. i remembr 1968-69 , I worked at White City on the Isle of Man , they were the eight best years of my life. Andy, LiverpoolAs kids we used to holiday in the Isle of Man either at port St Mary or Peel. 1. I was one of the worst things that has ever happened on our small Island and none of us will ever forget the event. The Summerland fire, according to the independent report into the blaze, will remain a permanent scar in the minds of Manxmen.. [18], Forty years after the tragedy, a permanent memorial in the form of three granite columns was unveiled at Kaye Memorial Gardens, at the bottom of Summer Hill. As Bob says the smell of the place too & being in there when it was pouring down outside was amazing to us kids. It was all shining, it even smelt new. It took me a long time to go on holiday again. We were there the night before the fire, we just thatought the "moving staircase" by the front door was the best thing ever. Kayti Summerland signed up 2022-08-04 22:08:04 -0400. Two years after its completion in 1971 the high tech promenade venue was the scene of devastation after a fire ripped through the building killing 50 people. Location:Isle of Man Posted February 17, 2006 Some photos of Summerland and the demolition (I'll post them in batches because uploading all at once seems to mess up the order) Quote Regulars 7.1k Gender:Male Location:Isle of Man Posted February 17, 2006 Damn flood control Quote The Old Git Regulars 7.1k Gender:Male Location:Isle of Man I worked in Summerland a week before it burnt down. sammy hamiltonI worked in Summerland a week before it burnt down. My dad played a lot of squash so I was always there watching him, well trying.. it took me years to be tall enough to see over from the spectators gallery properly.Every weekend it would either be rollerskating, swimming or the play area in the day and at night we would come back for the cabaret and more time in the play area.Through the week I would be in Summerland for 5-a-side football and swimming lessons with my school.For years I knew nothing about the fire but was told by my parents at a sensible age, from this moment on I wanted to know what the place looked like as their description made it sound out of this world and it was!I have spent many an hour researching everything Summerland.I have to admit I did feel very sad when I saw this place coming down.A newer more aesthetically pleasing version needs to be built, we need a more resourceful entertainment complex on the Island, everthing under one roof.. like Summerland! seeing many bodies, young people burned beyond recognition The Summerland building in Douglas was the first of its kind in the world. Firemen were already on the scene and ran past us with hoses. David ButteryI was 16 at the time of the fire, like many teeagers in Douglas we spent most of our evenings and many a wet day at Summerland.We could occasionally get served in the bars and if not we roller skated on the big rink downstairs.The night of the fire we had left Summerland to go to the stock cars at Onchan stadium, we got as far as the Catholic church in Oncan park when we saw a thin column of black smoke and people began to gather at the cliff top overlooking the site.We ran across the golf course watching the smoke grow, by the time we reached the cliff, half of the seaward wall of Summerland was blazing with a thick sheet of jet black smoke rising hundreds of feet.From our viewpoint we watched the fire spread over the huge oroglas canopy and saw thousands of people pouring out of the doors.When the events of 9/11 were shown on tv it reminded me of Douglas prom that night, teeming with shocked people and emergency vehicles flying up and down.We ended up in the Granada hotel trying to phone our parents to tell them we were ok but the phones were busy.The next morning the whole town stank of burnt plastic and vans instead of ambulannces ferried the dead to a makeshift mortuary.I didn't loose anyone and I dont have nightmares, but it was a dark part of my childhood and a memory that is still often in my thoughts. 14a Majestic Apartments King Edward Road Onchan IM3 2BD. They were each fined 3 (equal to 31.86 in 2020) and ordered to pay 33p compensation and 15p costs. Facts About Isle of Man: Places to Visit in Isle of Man Location Map of UK Cities Where is Aberdeen Where is Basildon Where is Basingstoke Where is Bath I was on holiday at the IOM with a group of girl friends the week of the Summerland fire. There were posters everywhere and everyone was talking about it. Mass Cholera Grave in Douglas. The scale of the fire has been compared to those seen during the Blitz. Only three Solaria existed at the time: Chicago, Japan and Switzerland. Located in the heart of Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man, the complex was a landmark of the island, offering a wide range of attractions for both locals and visitors alike. 4 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Seacroft, 3 Summerland, Ramsey, IM8 for 420,000. Just then I distinctly remember seeing a small flicker of light at the base of the building on the West side thinking it was someone with a torch or something, as it was getting dusky. In The Summerland Story written by Robert Kelly he promotes the centre as a holiday town where it never rains, the wind never blows and the temperature never gets chilly. carol burnsI survived that terrible disaster. Property description & features. Behind the stage was the huge rock face. Overview. The plans took years to finalise. 5. vs burned out building. I was told that the drummer from the show we had been watching did not make it. We came back to the island the year after the fire and we stayed in Oncan. Everywhere we went afterwards there was requests for blood donors it was so sad, and I think we were all glad to get home. I remember seeing balls of fire dropping from the top of the structure this was the so-called inflammable Oraglass (?) The scale of the fire has been compared to those seen during the Blitz. The indoor Summerland leisure complex in Douglas was the first of its kind in the world and its facilities put the Isle of Man on the map as one of the most important tourist destinations in. The conflagration took place on 2 August 1973 in this ambitious entertainment complex in Douglas, Isle of Man, commissioned in 1965 and opened in May 1971. We found them distraught watching the flames as they thought we were in the building. We were first alerted to it by the noise from the fire engines.Looking out the window of the boarding house we saw the flames. Fifty people were killed and 80 seriously injured. Examples of their tools are kept at the Manx Museum. Phase II Nicole SmithThe queue to get into the swimming pool with my Mum, Dad & brother and of course the smell. The acrylic material melted, allowing more oxygen to enter, and dropping burning molten material, both starting other fires and injuring those trying to escape.
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