A much-loved adventure play area less than a 90-minute drive from Manchester is still remembered to this day.
Generations of Mancunian children will remember day trips and summers in Blackpool, from enjoying fish and chips on the pier to heading to Blackpool Tower. And inside the popular landmark, many kids would have had hours of fun after heading inside the legendary Jungle Jim's.
Loved for its ball pits, snake slides and more, Jungle Jim's in Blackpool opened around the 1970s and was a popular destination for children from Greater Manchester and beyond visiting the area. Most childhoods weren't complete without getting lost in the ball pit or sliding down the snake slide on your elbows and knees, Lancs Live recently reported.
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In later years Jungle Jim's boasted a 'lost city' themed décor, but its history goes back even further than the 1970s. James Walmsley, known to many as 'Jim,' was manager of the Blackpool Tower Aquarium, Menagerie and Aviary and inspired the play area's name.
Jim was born in a cottage close to The Athenaeum Club in 1849 and had become involved with building the Blackpool aquarium from an early age and later became a permanent employee and by 1891 he was running the attraction as manager. Blackpool Tower is famous for a lot of things - however few may know that because of Jim, the famous landmark had born and successfully reared more lion cubs than anywhere else in the country.
And in his honour, Blackpool Tower's play area, loved by generations of children, was named Jungle Jim's adventure playground. In 1977, the remains of the smaller animals menagerie and the Roof Gardens on level six were closed and Jungle Jim’s Adventure Playground soon opened in the space.
For decades, it was a destination for kids from the area and visiting Blackpool. Many Mancunians will remember playing in the ball pit, escaping down the snake slides and in later life taking their own children there to enjoy the fun.
What are your memories of Jungle Jim's? Let us know in the comments section below.
By September 2019, it was announced that a new venue was set to open on site. Lancs Live reported how the Fifth Floor, a new multi-purpose family entertainment and event suite, will be located in the former home of Jungle Jim’s.
At the time, the Manchester Evening News also reported how families were told to 'expect crazy slime parties, gunge roulette, zorb bowling, wacky science, secret agent academies, plus the hilarious Strictly Dad Dancing and Tower's Got Juice game shows'. The new 750-capacity venue created an additional 20 jobs and the development came as The Blackpool Tower celebrated its 125th anniversary.
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At the time, Kenny Mew, general manager at the tower, said: "We are really excited to be opening this new space for the public. This new area will increase the potential of attracting big names in the entertainment industry right here to Blackpool.
"The possibilities are endless. It will have multiple themes, including a taste of circus which Blackpool is so famous for. Over the years, Jungle Jim’s has been close to many people’s hearts and it has brought literally thousands of hours of playtime fun which will always be remembered."
The site lives on as a popular children's destination today. But people from Manchester and beyond still carry fond memories of when it was once Jungle Jim's.
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