Last week we told how the military efforts in the Boer War and World War One impacted on the economy and on the availability of the iron needed to complete the structure.

An embryonic tower did emerge but was never completed and the structure that was begun finally met its end in 1918.

But the buildings that had sprung up around its base were, even by then, providing a variety of entertainments to thousands of visitors and locals alike.

Musical concerts in a 5,000-seater theatre, dances and comedy variety shows drew crowds from far and wide – often to see some of the very top music hall stars of the day.

Later there was ice-skating on a level floor which was eventually turned into a slight slope so audiences were afforded a better view of the new entertainment – cinema.

The Gaumont cinema company took over the buildings in 1949 and immediately announced a £65,000 refurbishment programme which, according to this paper, represented a magic wand that "transformed the Tower, Cinderella of Morecambe's entertainment places, into the gay and gorgeous Gaumont.

"After being closed for 40 days and 40 nights, while a swift and miraculous transformation was carried out, the rejuvenated beautiful building glittering with light, gleaming with chromium and glass, shining with paint and richly carpeted, was officially opened by the Mayor, Coun H.R.V. Addenbrooke.

"For the Mayor it was a dream come true. He was manager of the Tower for 37 years until he retired and he had long dreamt of the day when some fairy godmother would come along and spend on the Tower the money it needed to bring it up to date."

That character was to be a Mr John Davis, one of the J. Arthur Rank bosses who oversaw the Gaumont division of the international company.

The opening was the biggest event of the year in Morecambe and everyone who was anyone was there – councillors, magistrates, officials of practically every organisation in town as well as many hoteliers. A crowd gathered to watch the dignitaries arrive.

There were representatives too of local firm, Messrs John Edmondson, who had carried out the refurbishment using about 260 workers – manily from Morecambe and Lancaster.

And after the Mayor had officially declared the new picture house open a film feature – with the highlight being 'The Blue Lagoon' – was enjoyed.

Interestingly, the film was an adaptation of a novel by H. de Vere Stackpoole who, when not writing, was a doctor, spending part of his career in Morecambe at a surgery on the very site to be occupied by the Gaumont.

After the cinema it was on to the ballroom which had witnessed an equally astonishing transformation. Gone were old iron girders in the ceiling and dusty drapes.

There was now an ornate dome through which light was allowed to shine onto thick carpet that surrounded the floor which was to be graced on that opening night by TV and film star Diana Dors, who stayed after the opening ceremony to enjoy several dances.

The venue enjoyed a revival for a few years providing many entertainments for a generation of people of all ages every weekend.

It was formally taken over by the Rank Organisation in 1952. It stuttered, as did many of the more cumbersome cinema halls, during the early 1950s and closed in 1959.

It stood empty until January 1961 when it was sold along with furniture and fittings to Jack Smith and Mr W. Bateson for a reputed £17,500 all in.

It was later passed on to a development company intent on building flats there.

The buildings were demolished in 1961 and the site rented to a Bowling Alley Syndicate which ran there for a number of years before it also went into liquidation.

The bowl was taken over by the McAnulty brothers who had other entertainment interests in town.

They ran it as a multi-use venue with bowling, discos, bars, restaurant and live entertainment and, again, it welcomed some top stars, this time from the world of cabaret.

It closed again in 1978 with cabaret switched to the McNulty's Central Pier.

Later that year it had been thrust into another entertainment genre with the takeover by the Granada Company which converted it into a large 1,200-seat bingo hall employing 80.

The hall also offered cabaret entertainment with Ken Dodd the opening night star and Coronation Street actor, William Roache making a personal appearance the week after.

It was the company's 30th club, though its first in a seaside resort.
The building had its problems, including flooding in the early 1980s which threatened to undermine the whole place. But, after fears it may be irreparable were eventually countered, Gran-ada announced a £1.5 million facelift in 1984.

Some bingo was switched to the Floral Hall further along the prom while the works took place prior to a grand reopening in 1985.

The year after, a plan to convert the building site into a new supermarket were thrown out by the Secretary of State for the Environment after a public inquiry.

The club was taken over by Gala in the 1990s and their continued investment ensures the venue provides entertainment all week to its thousands of bingo-players.

* My thanks again to Doreen and John Read for the use of photos and to the Morecambe Local History Research Group and staff at Morecambe Library's reference section for helping with chronological information for this feature.