Editing Blackpool (section)

===1900 to 1960s===
In 1911, the town's Central Station was the busiest in the world, and in July 1936, 650 trains came and went in a single day.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Haslam |first=Chris |date=2023-09-22 |title=Blackpool's unlikely bounce back — and why you'll want to go this summer |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/the-surprising-seaside-star-in-the-best-value-holiday-stakes-w2wmzxz3p |access-date=2023-09-22 |work=[[The Times]] |language=en |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> In May 1912 [[Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll|Princess Louise]] officially opened a new section of North Promenade – Princess Parade – and lights were erected to mark the occasion.<ref name=":2" /> The [[First World War]] called a temporary halt to the display in 1914 but by 1925 the lights were back with giant animated tableaux being added and extending the [[Blackpool Illuminations]] to almost six miles from Squires Gate to Red Bank Road.<ref name="y993">{{cite book | last=Sharpley | first=Richard | title=Tourism Development and the Environment | publisher=Earthscan | publication-place=London | date=2009 | isbn=978-1-84407-732-8 | page=189}}</ref>
[[File:Blackpool_Golden_Mile_postcard_1972.jpg|thumb|The Golden Mile in 1972]]
[[File:The_North_Pier_Blackpool_England.jpg|thumb|Blackpool's North Pier]]
[[File:Blackpool promenade steps at high tide.jpg|thumb|Promenade steps at high tide in 2017]]
The inter-war period saw Blackpool develop and mature as a holiday destination.<ref name="g060">{{cite book | last=Alaluf | first=Yaara Benger | title=The Emotional Economy of Holidaymaking | publisher=Oxford University Press | date=2021-03-04 | isbn=978-0-19-263577-8}}</ref> By 1920 Blackpool had around eight million visitors per year, still drawn largely from the mill towns of East [[Lancashire]] and the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]].{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} Blackpool's population boom was complete by 1951, by which time some 147,000 people were living in the town – compared with 47,000 in 1901 and 14,000 in 1881.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A History of Blackpool |url=http://www.localhistories.org/blackpool.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623015207/http://www.localhistories.org/blackpool.html |archive-date=23 June 2012 |access-date=17 August 2012 |publisher=Localhistories.org}}</ref> In the 1920s and 1930s, Blackpool was Britain's most popular resort, which [[JB Priestley]] referred to as "the great, roaring, spangled beast".<ref name=":0" /> It provided visitors with entertainment and accommodation on an industrial scale. At its height it hosted more than 10 million visitors a year and its entertainment venues could seat more than 60,000 people.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} During the Second World War, the illuminations were again suspended from 1939, not resuming until 1948.<ref name="y993"/>

Blackpool remained a popular resort through much of the 20th century and, in contrast to most resorts, increased in size during [[World War II]] – remaining open while others closed and with many civil servants and military personnel sent to live and work there.<ref name=":0" /> The town continued to attract more visitors in the decade after the war, reaching a peak of 17 million per year.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}