Tourism and the Marina Swimming pool

“Tomorrow 21st July 1935 will see another landmark in the history of Ramsgate.  It is the official opening of the Marina Bathing Pool and Cafes by His Worship the Mayor Alderman Dye.”

 This image shows the Pool during construction.   It was taken July 1st 1935 and it was opened 20 days later!

It replaced  70 odd wooden bathing huts and a Swimming Club Hut.   These were  demolished to make way for a new promenade and dressing accommodation for the pool.

Built in 1935 to expand the tourism offering along with Pleasureland and the Westcliff Hall the entire seafront from the Westcliff Chine to the Winterstoke Gardens would have offered much for the British holidaymaker.

 So what went wrong. "The Lido lived on for 50 years.  Sadly it succumbed to the same threats as most lidos at the time.  This was down to the climate change and weather conditions.   Package holidays abroad where the sunshine was guaranteed,  all took its toll on patronage." Quote from the following link Ramsgate Marina Pool

This is one theory. The other theory goes back to its construction. Taken from Michael's Thanetonline

"Some say the problem was the old design of the building and that thee pool was actually on 'stilts' and you could walk underneath it at low tide. As the tide came in the void was filled with seawater. The dated building measures made this a fatal design fault. Gradually the chalk below began to erode, and as a result the foundations moved, causing the pool to crack. This was patched for years until repairs were impossible. It was also too expensive to replace."
Whatever the reason by 1999 this is what the site looked like

 The site is now a carpark looking for some cars.