| Description: | The Brighton Marine Palace and Pier is a pleasure pier in Brighton, England. It is generally known as the Palace Pier for short, but has been informally renamed Brighton Pier since 2000 by its owners, the Noble Organisation, in an attempt to suggest that it is Brighton's only pier. The West Pier was its rival but was closed in 1975 and was subsequently severely damaged by fires and storms, with the remaining iron structure being partially demolished in 2010. Work began on the Palace Pier in 1891 and it opened in May 1899 after costing a record £27,000 to build. This was Brighton's third pier. A condition to be met by its builders, in exchange for permission to build, was that the first, The Royal Suspension Chain Pier of 1823, which had fallen into a state of disrepair, was to be demolished. 1 They were saved this task by a storm which largely destroyed the Chain Pier. |
