Phone boxes are historic!

They are all listed buildings, specially protected from developers in Blackpool - and now the town's Civic Trust has produced its own unique catalogue describing each one complete with pictures.

Put together by Civic Trust secretary Elaine Smith and her husband Jim, a special bound copy will be presented to the mayor, Coun Bill Burgess, at the Town Hall (Victorian, listed in 1974) on August 21.

"We decided to do it because we found there was no comprehensive list and often our members would raise queries over what was or was not listed," said Elaine.

"My husband and our chairman Barry Shaw took the photographs and I wrote the descriptions, then produced one copy on our home computer. We were very surprised at some of the buildings that were on the list - like the red phone boxes in Abingdon Street and Talbot Square and the promenade shelters - as well as by some that were not, like the 1930s art-deco style former Woolworths building (now Pricebusters) on the seafront, and some of the original rides and buildings at the Pleasure Beach.

Blackpool has only one Grade 1 listed building, the Tower - preserved for its exceptional status as a national landmark - the rest being Grade 2 or the more important 2*.

The latest to be listed, in June this year, was the 1950s-built Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Whinney Heys Road (Grade 2*). Most of the town's most prominent buildings are protected, including the Winter Gardens, Grand Theatre, several churches, the Raikes Hall pub, Marton Windmill, Abingdon Street Post Office, Central Library, the Salvation Army Citadel, Elmslie School, the old Odeon Cinema, three cobble-walled cottages and just one pier - the North.

Blackpool Civic Trust is holding a garden party in aid of the RNLI, with special guests illusionist Richard de Vere and his dog Schnorbitz, on August 8 at 1.30pm at 319, Blackpool Old Road, Poulton.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.