Lonan3 Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 It was never a 'castle' as such, just a large building that was converted to be used for entertainment - shows, dances etc with a café and bar. From memory, there was a covered walkway leading up to the main building and there were certainly penny-arcade machines along there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 I see photos of what that part of the prom looked like and I am almost awestruck by the beauty of it. The whole area looked magical with Derby Castle, the dancefloor, and arches. A great shame that Derby Castle was taken down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike J M Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 As a memorial garden, I'd say yes in sorts, but it should be so much more. The people went there to have fun, to have a good time and both should be incorporated into whatever building is eventually planned. We can't take away the pain, the suffering, the horror of the day, but we can make sure that there's a quiet and restful place and designed specifically for the families to have that personal time to themselves. I would add and put forward a suggestion that a person should be appointed to hear and design a place of remembrance and at the same time, design the rest of the building as somewhere where those who have passed away, would have been eager to see, to have fun and to enjoy the designs of the community as a tribute to the past and also to the future. This is what I would personally want and to leave it as a bare rock face shell with just a face of painful memories, doesn't sit quite right with me and whatever is thought of and providing there's a place of remembrance, then that's fine by me. Do others agree that something is better than nothing? Don't get me wrong, I feel sorry for those who still remember the tragedy, but I do feel that a building should be built and that a special place is needed, so lets do this together. I Agree This thread is digressing from a disaster that should 'Never be Swept Under the Carpet'. Lets forget the politics for a moment. People who survived may not want/or be able to visit the cemeteries of those who died. A memorial, garden... Grief affects families, friends, different ways. No one can advice on this aspect of life/death, it's a matter of coping. Many people were lost - more injured. ... I can't put it in words... but it should be in a place... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parchedpeas Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 That end of the prom used to be really beautiful, and we let it go. First they knocked down the Derby Castle. Then they built Summerland. Look at it now. The Luftwaffe couldn't have done a better job than our planners and politicians. A national disgrace. Most of Douglas is a national disgrace. It's a shit tip of a town that needs knocking down and starting again. The only bits that are nice are paid for by the government and, therefore, are unsustainable to maintin in the real world. The landlords and private owners of many of the nicer looking building have been allowed to get away with murder in the name of progress and we have been left with a disgusting town that is a mish-mash of bad Victoriana and shoddy 'contemporary' designs. Summerland with NEVER be redeveloped. The site is a nightmare filled with the stench of death and the stench of seaweed and sewage. It would make a pointless tourist attraction, as we have no tourists, so it is best left as a monument to those who have gone, and as a painful example to those who have spectacularly failed the Isle of Man in general and Douglas specifically over the last 20 years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 Stench of death? A rather inappropriate phrase for the theme of the conversation. But I disagree. For those who have it in memory, it is somewhere coloured by death and tragedy. But not to those who are younger. I never knew about it until ten years ago. I went through my teens completely unaware of the history and had many happy times at Summerland. The meaning of a place changes depending on experience and knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANANNAN Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 It'd be a great site for a National Railway Museum, to allow some of the long term stored artifacts of the Islands glorious railway history to be displayed and publically accessible for the first time in many years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Git Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 It was never a 'castle' as such, just a large building that was converted to be used for entertainment - shows, dances etc with a café and bar. From memory, there was a covered walkway leading up to the main building and there were certainly penny-arcade machines along there There used to be a castellated building with what looks like a gun emplacement in front of it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butters Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 A sorry tale, Quilp. However, that story has stirred some memories. I think there was some chit chat at school about the fair haired lad, surname beginning with 'M (?)', at the time - mainly, how he had been wrongly accused of some involvement but quickly dispelled when the real hapless lads were identified. Absolutely terrible for you and for the real perpetrators - they only set in train a sequence of events they had no idea where or how it would end. Not like many others who set up the dominoes just ready for any minor event to start the topple. Yes Gladys, you've got 'M' dead-on. I've gotten to think of those lads whose actions led to the disaster and wonder how their lives've panned-out. They were eventually charged with criminal damage, to the padlock on the kiosk that served the 'Crazy Golf', if i remember correctly. I was having a drink in the 'Legion', this TT week, and noticed the copper who'd been 'very handy' with me and 'M'. Sat and wondered what his memories were. I guess feelings ran pretty high with the cops at the time and they were looking for a result. Other stuff i recall is that my sister, who'd only just passed her driving-test was busy running some of the less-injured to Nobles and then picking-up blood-donors and ferrying them to the hospital. Weren't some of the local cabbies also involved with this? Maybe Lonan3 could shed light on this...? If you You Tube the ITV report & interviews you will spot yourself along with a young man who used to wear canary yellow parallels. Is that who was hauled in with you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishone Posted July 9, 2013 Author Share Posted July 9, 2013 It was never a 'castle' as such, just a large building that was converted to be used for entertainment - shows, dances etc with a café and bar. From memory, there was a covered walkway leading up to the main building and there were certainly penny-arcade machines along there There used to be a castellated building with what looks like a gun emplacement in front of it What a beautiful building! Summerland was an architectural monstrocity in comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blade Runner Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 That building looks a lot like one on the main road in Crosby or the other way round, the one in Crosby may have been a small copy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thommo2010 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 May have been covered as I haven't read the full thread but what happened to the people who started the fire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quilp Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 A sorry tale, Quilp. However, that story has stirred some memories. I think there was some chit chat at school about the fair haired lad, surname beginning with 'M (?)', at the time - mainly, how he had been wrongly accused of some involvement but quickly dispelled when the real hapless lads were identified. Absolutely terrible for you and for the real perpetrators - they only set in train a sequence of events they had no idea where or how it would end. Not like many others who set up the dominoes just ready for any minor event to start the topple. Yes Gladys, you've got 'M' dead-on. I've gotten to think of those lads whose actions led to the disaster and wonder how their lives've panned-out. They were eventually charged with criminal damage, to the padlock on the kiosk that served the 'Crazy Golf', if i remember correctly. I was having a drink in the 'Legion', this TT week, and noticed the copper who'd been 'very handy' with me and 'M'. Sat and wondered what his memories were. I guess feelings ran pretty high with the cops at the time and they were looking for a result. Other stuff i recall is that my sister, who'd only just passed her driving-test was busy running some of the less-injured to Nobles and then picking-up blood-donors and ferrying them to the hospital. Weren't some of the local cabbies also involved with this? Maybe Lonan3 could shed light on this...? If you You Tube the ITV report & interviews you will spot yourself along with a young man who used to wear canary yellow parallels. Is that who was hauled in with you? Indeed. He was a nice lad, a great family, in fact. You must've met him. They were electric yellow, quite the thing back then. Ha! Bit like your salmon-pinks...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jefferson Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 That building looks a lot like one on the main road in Crosby or the other way round, the one in Crosby may have been a small copy? You mean Greeba Castle? It was never a 'castle' as such, just a large building that was converted to be used for entertainment - shows, dances etc with a café and bar. From memory, there was a covered walkway leading up to the main building and there were certainly penny-arcade machines along there There used to be a castellated building with what looks like a gun emplacement in front of it Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman1980 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I would be interested to know what the survivors and families of those who were killed on that day would like to see happen to the area. I do think that maybe a balance between a memorial garden and some form of recreational venue would be good. Throw in some of the architecture of Derby Castle and make that end of the promenade more attractive again and it could be positive. I was going to disagree with Manannan over the Railway Museum and although I am not sure it would be a success it would certainly fit with the Electric Railway. I just hope that whatever happens with the site is not a load more flats or another concrete monstrosity like the "new" Summerland was. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I just hope that whatever happens with the site is not a load more flats or another concrete monstrosity like the "new" Summerland was. High quality flats with a memorial garden in front would work, but the cost of stabilising the cliff will be high - I think it's very young rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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