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”)

A Palestinian youth jumps with a sword as he demonstrates his ninja-style skills for the photographer in front of the ruins of buildings, that were destroyed in 2014 war, in the northern Gaza Strip January 29, 2016. The youths, who have been receiving martial arts training at local clubs in Gaza for the past two years, decided to form a team to hold regular shows in the hope that the publicity generated will eventually lead to them being invited to participate in international contests. (Photo by Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

Newly-wed Syrian couple Nada Merhi, 18, and Hassan Youssef, 27, have their wedding pictures taken in front of a heavily damaged building in the war ravaged city of Homs on February 5, 2016. A Syrian photographer thought of using the destruction of Homs to take pictures of newly wed couples to show that life is stronger than death. (Photo by Joseph Eid/AFP Photo)

In this January 16, 2019 photo, a sculpture of a Plesiosaur is displayed at an exhibit about the studies of researchers from the National Museum made in Antartica, during a media presentation of the exhibit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The National Museum will inaugurate on Jan. 17 their first exhibition after the fire, held at the building that houses the Cultural Center and Museum of Brazil's Mint. (Photo by Leo Correa/AP Photo)

Lion dance with LED lights, perform on the glass deck of the King Power Mahanakhon building, currently Thailand's tallest at 314 meters (1,030 feet) tall, Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, February 4, 2019. Chinese will celebrate the lunar new year on Feb. 5 this year which marks the Year of the Pig in the Chinese zodiac. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

In this Tuesday, March 20, 2018 photo, a Vampire Bat drinks bovine blood in the Criaturas de la Noche (Creatures of the Night) Bat House, the Audubon Zoo's new night house in New Orleans. The various species are all from Central and South America, and the building's interior simulates an abandoned warehouse set up to protect Mayan artifacts during a dig. (Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

An Indigenous man stands under a water fountain outside a government building in Brasilia, on April 26, 2019, during the last day of a protest camp. Approximately 4,000 indigenous people from different tribes are taking part in protests during the Indigenous National Mobilization (MNI) week, a mobilization which seeks to tackle territorial rights' negotiations with the government. (Photo by Carl De Souza/AFP Photo)

A supercell thunderstorm develops, May 8, 2017 in Elbert County outside of Limon, Colorado. With funding from the National Science Foundation and other government grants, scientists and meteorologists from the Center for Severe Weather Research try to get close to supercell storms and tornadoes trying to better understand tornado structure and strength, how low-level winds affect and damage buildings, and to learn more about tornado formation and prediction. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)