Its new museum recalls the glory days, but Blackpool remains one of the greatest places on Earth

Blackpool’s seafront promenade is nicer than Rio’s. Its art deco buildings would grace Miami Beach without complaint. The Tower is the original Angel of the North, as well as its saucy devil. On a summer’s day, the strand at South Pier is one of the best places to be – on Earth.

I’m not being facetious or satirical. If I had 2p for every snide article penned by a southern hack popping “oop north” for a day to slag off the most visited seaside resort in the UK I’d have enough to try out all the slot machines and penny falls on the prom. I was born and raised in Lancashire and, after decades living elsewhere and travelling all over, still reserve a soft spot for Blackpool.

And now, a new cutting-edge museum, Showtown – opening on March 15 – adds not only a cultural heavyweight to the town’s diverse offering, it also explains and articulates Blackpool’s enduring appeal, uniqueness and, even, its shortcomings and challenges.

The weather can be one of the latter. I arrived on a day of cold wind and driving rain. The sea was rough and roiling. I checked in to the Boulevard Hotel, which is very smart indeed, and a bit surreal. My suite looked north along the coast road. At the back, rooms face the Pleasure Beach amusement park and are overlooked by the Big One – the UK’s tallest roller coaster, for now. Personally, I prefer the sedate pace of the trams, but I am sure kids love waking up to a big dipper.

Despite the inclement day, I decided to walk into town. I chose an inland road, avoiding the coastal gusts but also to take me via Blackpool’s infamous underbelly. I went down Bond Street. Unlike the famous London thoroughfare, this one was short on big brands and high fashion. On one side were the backs of B&Bs and on the other cafeterias, chippies, newsagents, barbers. Cross streets were occupied by guest houses. A few facades, in redbrick or cream sandstone, looked as if they were once proud. Some buildings were burned out. Snack bars and restaurants vied for off-season trade with cheap deals. Old-school fare like scampi tails and gammon were promised. One chain bar announced: “Kids eat for £1”.

As I got closer to the centre, Blackpool Tower appeared at the end of the street. It still has the power to surprise. As do the Winter Gardens, Grand Theatre, Metropole Hotel and the little green pagoda-like shelters close to the North Pier. The Victorians understood embellishment as well as functionality.

To escape the drizzle, I went into the Grundy Art Gallery behind Blackpool’s Carnegie library. There was a photographic celebration of the work of JC Robinson, responsible for some of the town’s finest modern buildings, including Bispham tram station, Carleton Crematorium and the sadly long-lost Derby Baths. In another room was a list of “Seasider firsts” relating to Blackpool FC. The team claims – if that’s the word – to have been playing in the first match in England at which riot police were deployed and the “first recorded use of ammonia in a dispute between football fans”.

It was the perfect preamble to Showtown. The £15 million project, which has been gestating for more than a decade, is housed on a prime corner beneath the tower; a hotel is also planned. Billed as a “museum of fun and entertainment”, and with a loud, even garish colour scheme and interactive displays, it’s intended to appeal to young people and families. Laughing bags and fake poo are among the exhibits. But this museum is also a significant cultural asset.

Six galleries spread over 10,000 square feet take visitors on a time-travelling journey through the effervescent passions that created Blackpool: Seaside, Magic, Circus, Illuminations, Shows and Dance. Original costumes, props, puppets, posters, programmes, disco booths and dance floors provide physical evidence. Voices and visual collages relate the stories. Film clips and posters remind us of the greats – and curiosities – who have performed at the town’s piers and theatres – from Gracie Fields to the “Amazing Telepathic Girl”, George Formby to Winifred Atwell, Orville to Peter Kay (whose Ribena-coloured Amarillo suit is on show).

Lots of the elements – Punch and Judy shows, stand-up comedy, the Gipsy Petulengro – can of course be experienced out on the prom, but there’s something to be said for giving popular cultural artefacts the museum treatment. You think, reflect, question. That’s very much the intention of the models of caged circus animals and the prodder used to make the tiger growl. Why are clowns and ventriloquists’ dummies so frightening? Why do people visit fortune tellers on holiday? Why do the Blackpool Lights continue to draw massive crowds when there’s more technology in a smartphone? It’s also quite something to see the tooth marks in the bit used by an “Iron Jaw” trapeze artist.

But Showtown impresses because of the quality of the curation. Council researchers, illustrator Alex Williamson (who made the collages) and highly regarded museum designers Casson Mann have worked together to bring the “golden age” to life, without making it feel removed or in any way dusty and sepia-tinged. The objects, ephemera and stories garnered from the Blackpool Council collections, together with items loaned from the V&A, plus rarely shown items from performers and the Strictly wardrobe, combine to create an engaging and diverting experience.

Is the real Blackpool a comedown after a couple of hours in Showtown? Potentially, yes. Roberts’ Oysters Bar was closed. The North Pier was closed. The Art B&B alternative hotel, funded to the tune of £1.3 million by the council, had been shuttered. You wonder if Blackpool isn’t giving up on the off-season trade – which it more or less invented a century ago.

But it wasn’t actually a downer to come back to reality. Because, when I emerged from the bright shades and razzmatazz of Showtown, spring had – like a magic trick – arrived. Blackpool has always been whatever tourists want to get out of it. The new museum is a repository of glories past. But the town can still turn it on and it looked absolutely splendid. The tide had retreated, and the weather with it. The beach was gleaming and golden. The wide prom made me feel like dancing – or at least speeding up my walk a bit. Seaside towns, we shouldn’t forget, came into being thanks to their eternal verities: ocean, light, air; sunshine, far horizons, big skies. To these we have added fun, games, rides, turns, fish and chips, and all our human flaws.

Showtown opens to the public on March 15. 10am–5pm Mon–Sun. Tickets are £15 (adults), £11.50 (age 4-15), £13.50 (students/seniors) and free entry for under-3’s; they are valid for 12 months.