“Custer” the smallest car in the US. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 1920

Hostesses pose in front of a Suzuki Ignis car at the European Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium, January 13, 2017. (Photo by Francois Lenoir/Reuters)

This unidentified teenager found Elvis Presley “too much” when he appeared at the Philadelphia Arena in Philadelphia, Pa., on April 6, 1957. (Photo by Bill Ingraham/AP Photo)

A ballet dancer practices in the sunshine at the Southbank skatepark in London on Monday, September 17, 2018, as Storm Helene is due to bring unseasonably warm weather in London and the south east, as the low pressure draws up warm air from the south. Forecasters have downgraded warnings that Helene could pose a risk to life when it hits this week – but warned coastal communities to stay vigilant. (Photo by Kirsty O'Connor/PA Wire)

These friends enjoying a night out in the West Yorkshire city beamed for the cameras as they waved Union flags during the Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee celebrations on June 4, 2022. (Photo by Nb press ltd)

An NHS worker walks past a banner supporting NHS staff outside Salford Royal Hospital on March 22, 2020 in Manchester, UK. Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread to at least 182 countries, claiming over 13,069 lives and infecting more than 308,592 people. There have now been 5,018 diagnosed cases in the UK and 233 deaths. (Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)

Pedestrians are falling after a gust of wind in Munich southern Germany, Tuesday, March 31, 2015. One of the strongest storm fronts in years hit Germany on Tuesday, as Storm “Niklas” uncovered roofs, toppled scaffolding and caused severe disruption to rail services. (Photo by Sven Hoppe/AP Photo/DPA)

While the lido was described as bringing “modernism to the masses” on the British coast it was just the latest example of a trend that had been developing since Victorian times – transforming seaside towns into resorts for leisure and entertainment. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the fashion was for local authorities to build great piers stretching from the promenade out into the sea. The Eastbourne Pier, pictured here in May 1931, was erected between 1866 and 1870 to an ingenious design by Eugenius Birch, which saw the structure sitting on special cups allowing the supporting struts to “move” in bad weather. Arranged on the pier's 1,000-foot length were kiosks, a theatre, a ballroom and a camera obscura. 1931. (Photo by Aerofilms Collection via “A History of Britain From Above”)