City Insights
Vote for Palace Pier
By Jennifer Drury
The Theatre and Café on the Palace Pier, photographed in 1958. Originally this was a Pavilion and Concert hall but was remodelled as a theatre and café about 1910. In this form it was very popular and well supported until in 1973, it was very seriously damaged in a gale and never reopened.
Image reproduced with kind permission of The Regency Society and The James Gray Collection
Noble Organisation selling up
Most of you will already know that the Noble Organisation, who took over the Palace Pier, in 1984, have put this iconic Victorian Grade II* listed structure up for sale. The pier is phenomenally successful in that it is visited by over four million people from all over the world every year and is loved by visitors and locals alike. Now that it is up for grabs, international bidders will tough it out with domestic prospective buyers to own this well loved city landmark.
Controversially renamed in 2000
In 2000 the Noble Organisation caused enormous local controversy by taking down the original ‘Palace Pier’ sign and replacing it with one saying ‘Brighton Pier’. Unsurprisingly, there has been a swell of local feeling towards putting pressure on the successful new owner to reinstate the ‘Palace Pier’ name. In fact for most locals the structure, originally titled the Brighton Marine Palace and Pier, has never been anything else, but the general consensus is that it should be made ‘official’.
Sign an e-petition
Councillor Gill Mitchell, of Brighton and Hove City Council, has started an e-petition which states:
We the undersigned petition the council to recognise that the sale of this city's 112 year old pier provides the perfect opportunity to actively work with any potential owner to ensure that the currently named 'Brighton Pier' is officially restored to its original name by which it is still affectionately known by local people today - 'the Palace Pier'.
Unfortunately the e-petition has now closed.
This page was added on 13/07/2011.