David Gray's pictures of the week 7-4-2008

DAVID GRAY photography
	T H E W E S T P I E R 1 9 9 8 - 2 0 0 8
	P I C T U R E S O F T H E W E E K 7 - 4 - 2 0 0 8

to the next picture in this set

It's five years since a huge fire consumed Brighton's lovely old West Pier. All that's left is its rusting carcass, a splendid but irretrievable ghost of what had been the finest pleasure pier in the world. This week's picture set shows the West Pier 1998-2008 - eleven images, one from each year. A decade ago the pier was empty and unused - it had closed to the public way back in 1975. But it was still intact, complete with its marvellous theatre, pavilion and kiosks. The shame is that it wasn't rescued then, when a relatively modest amount of money (certainly compared to the ludicrously overblown London Olympics 2012) could have brought it back to life. The West Pier now lies dead in the water. But what a death !

The carcass at low tide in April 2008 (image 2754-34b)

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