Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Creative Nail Academy, Blackpool

Creative Nail Academy, Blackpool

I snapped this building on a weekend trip to Blackpool in 2001 and that is all I know about it. At the time it was home to the Creative Nail Academy but certainly had a different purpose when it was first built.

Perhaps a clue to the building's former use are the fasces which decorate the corners at the 3rd storey.

Creative Nail Academy, Blackpool

The fasces, an ancient Roman symbol for power, was adopted by the Italian facists during the 20s & 30s leading up to WWII which has somewhat soured this symbol to modern eyes.

No doubt there is an interesting story behind why a building in Blackpool dating from this time has these fasces as part of the decoration.

Posted by David Thompson
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3 comments:

  1. KilroyFebruary 23, 2010 at 3:27 PM

    Re the fasces. It was a symbol of executive authority in ancient Rome. I speculate that the building photographed in your blog was intended to have some government/administrative function when it was first built; hence the incorporation of the fasces.

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  2. David ThompsonFebruary 24, 2010 at 11:43 AM

    Yes. Maybe someone knows what the building was before it became the Creative Nail Academy that can confirm what it was originally.

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  3. KilroyFebruary 24, 2010 at 1:59 PM

    The local Council should have this information.

    BTW, I find your blog to be wonderful. I have a soft spot for Art Deco and Nuevo Art Deco too, also a style called Secession which I witnessed a lot of in Poland when I was there recently. There was an exhibition about it in Wrocław too...

    Generally, every cultural expression after the 1960s is rubbish in the West.

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