Scenes from central Blackpool - 21 photos which will bring back memories of the streets, shops and buildings stepped back from the Golden Mile

This collection of photos from our archives focus on Central Drive which cuts through Blackpool from Bank Hey Street and Albert Road to Waterloo Road.

Historically it was the area where the steam trains pulled in to Central Station – the first place holidaymakers saw when they stepped out of the station including the anticipated sight of the Tower rising from above the rooftops. It’s also where many of the guest houses and smaller hotels stand on the edge of the main town centre and shopping area. It’s traditionally home to souvenir shops, joke shops, fish and chips and the main central car park. As decades rolled by the area sadly declined and now has some of the worst pockets of deprivation in England. Nevertheless there is still a strong community spirit.

The photos show some of the key buildings, pubs and shops, mainly from Central Drive, right through the decades from the 60s to the 00s.

In case you missed them:

22 scenes from the shops loved and lost in Blackpool that you might remember from the 70s to 90s

Reminiscing over shopping trips to Blackpool town centre - 18 scenes from the nineties and noughties

Streets, landmarks and shops on the Fylde Coast that set the scene in the 1990s

21 rarely seen photos of Blackpool's much-loved Derby Baths from the 1980s

18 street scenes from around Blackpool which take you back to town centre sights in the 90s

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