In its heyday, it was a bustling centre of seaside enjoyable the place households would spend hours splashing about.
However now, greater than 30 years after it closed, a part of Margate's well-known Lido complicated has collapsed following heavy rain within the Kent city.
Dramatic photographs taken after the drama unfolded on Monday present how a part of the rooftop carpark has fallen in on itself, sparking security fears for the entire constructing.
The Lido was constructed by John Henry Iles, the creator of Margate's celebrated Dreamland pleasure park, within the Twenties - when the city was a haven for Britons who went on seaside holidays of their droves.
It was a vibrant a part of the city proper up till the Seventies, when it was final used as a disco.
The swimming pool - the place artist Tracey Emin apparently learnt to swim - was lastly shut within the Eighties.
For many years, Margate has been one of the vital disadvantaged elements of the nation, thanks partially to the decline of the normal seaside vacation.
Nevertheless, a current revival has seen the city develop into a hub for fashionable cafés, vintage retailers, artwork galleries and bistros, following an onslaught of younger Londoners eager to flee sky-high mortgage charges within the capital.
The deserted Lido web site has a protracted historical past stretching again 200 years. Initially the location was house to the Clifton Baths, inbuilt 1824.
They have been listed in 2008 as a consequence of their significance in British seaside historical past as one of many earliest surviving sea bathing institutions within the nation.
The stays of the baths are all subterranean however present a captivating reminder of the start of seaside tourism.
The Artwork Deco Lido was established in 1926 and was was a big trendy seaside complicated with bars, cafes and eating places on a number of ranges and a big open-air swimming pool.
These buildings have been constructed onto and over the remaining elements of the Clifton Baths, laid out over a collection of terraces.
Within the Nineteen Thirties the complicated was renamed the Cliftonville Lido.
The Lido Cliff Bar on the location was well-liked with the realm's various and underground music scenes by means of the Seventies and into the early 2000s, with native bands Deadpan, Firm Coverage, North by Northwest, Reduce Your Personal Head Off, and Bread Head taking the stage.
The positioning is within the palms of directors Duff & Phelps and was beforehand run by personal agency Stour Aspect Investments.
Discovering an acceptable scheme that preserves the historical past of the location and doesn't compromise the seafront place has proved tough.
Choices have included reviving The Lido and making it blended use, with retail, meals retailers and venue rent.
Even vacation lodging has been thought of, with one father and son developer duo eager to construct a 110-bed resort and 94 self-catering flats.
A spokesman for Thanet District Council mentioned: 'The Lido Automotive Park is privately owned, nonetheless, the council's Constructing Management group will probably be putting in limitations within the automobile park and on the coastal path to make sure the security of the general public, and will probably be liaising with the homeowners.'
Ever for the reason that early 18th Century, Margate had been a preferred vacationer vacation spot for folks travelling the brief distance from London to Kent.
The city was closely hit through the Second World Conflict, with round 3,000 bombs raining down and destroying virtually 300 buildings.
A significant storm in 1953 did little to assist its restoration efforts however by the Nineteen Sixties an excellent vibe had returned to the city, with households flocking to Margate to take pleasure in their holidays.
Arguably the principle attraction was the Dreamland theme park, the centrepiece of which was the Scenic Railway, however a collection of fires and declining numbers led to its closure in 2005.
The park re-opened ten years later following repeated wrangling over its future. Though it then fell again into administration, it did re-open as soon as once more in 2017.
After the city went into decline when home holidays turned much less well-liked, it turned a hive of unemployment and damaged companies, with almost 40 per cent of retailers mendacity empty and the same variety of folks residing on advantages.
Retail skilled Mary Portas famously tried to assist with the city's regeneration by providing her experience.
She filmed a TV programme there and, in 2012, opened two retailers as a part of a scheme which noticed 27 'Portas pilot' areas across the nation obtain a portion of a £1.2million pot of presidency money to assist them regenerate.
The city had acquired an earlier enhance in 2011 when the Turner Up to date artwork gallery was opened, attracting guests from across the nation and vacationers from overseas.
Lately, good boutiques, bistros and cafes have sprung up on the streets main onto Margate's seashore.
Ian Dickie, the director of Margate Museum, instructed the Geographical web site in 2019: 'Up till 2010, this place was actually within the doldrums. Actually from 1970 to 2010.
'Now vacationers are coming again. 2011 noticed the Turner Up to date opening. It is not everyone's cup of tea.
'Not everyone likes the constructing or the idea. Nevertheless it brings 1000's and 1000's of individuals to the city.
'The place is starting to look alive once more. A lot of artwork galleries round, numerous retro retailers.
'We used to name them junk retailers years in the past, however they're retro now.'
The regeneration has just lately attracted Londoners who're pissed off by the sky-high rents within the capital and searching for someplace nicer, and cheaper, to reside.
One, Amy Redmond, moved to there in 2014 and subsequently based the fashionable Margate Arts Membership together with her husband Luke Vandenberg.
She instructed the Night Normal: The character of artist-led regeneration is that we discover locations we will observe our artwork, be inventive, placed on events and be ourselves, and Margate offers such a welcoming platform to do that.
'It has a shocking shoreline, contemporary air, tradition, artwork, historical past; the city is stuffed with magic.'
One other, music agent Cecily Mullins, mentioned: 'I got here down to go to and thought I might somewhat purchase a house someplace that I take pleasure in residing, with a correct sense of group somewhat than on the outskirts of London, the place I might be capable to afford.'
