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All the United Kingdom England Blackpool High Tide Organ
High Tide Organ is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

High Tide Organ

This sculpture is an instrument played by the swell of the seas.

Blackpool, England

Added By
Allison Meier
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  MattKitty/Wikimedia
  MattKitty/Wikimedia
  Gerald England/Wikimedia
  RHaworth/Wikimedia
  Alison's Eyes/Flickr
  trevorcoxsalford/Flickr
  trevorcoxsalford/Flickr
  R lee/Wikimedia
The manifold of air pipes which supply the organ with air pressurised by the tide.   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
Since 2002 the corrosion process has created really interesting surface effects.   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
The High Tide Organ in Blackpool   Gerald England/CC BY-SA 2.0
One of the pipes which allows the rising tide to pressurise the organ   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Arrive at the towering metal High Tide Organ on the Blackpool promenade a couple of hours before or after high tide and you'll hear otherworldly music wafting over the air.

Built in 2002 and designed by Liam Curtin and John Gooding, the sea organ stands 49-feet-tall in a curled shape that looks like a cross between a tentacle and the staff of a violin. Like other sea organs, such as that in Croatia and in San Francisco, it uses the movement of the ocean to control its sound.

Some eight pipes connect to the water through the sea wall and link up to 18 pipes in the body of the High Tide Organ. When the tide rolls in or out, air pushed up the pipes causes the sculpture to resonate with its unique music. 

Just to the left of the organ (when looking out to sea) is a set of steps to the beach. At low tide you can go down to the beach and see the pipes that make the system work, which are attached to the sea wall.

Update March 2022: Sadly the High Tide Organ has been removed from the promenade. It is said it is reported that it is "beyond repair" and will not be reinstated. 

Related Tags

Music Sculptures Art Sea Organ

Community Contributors

Added By

Allison

Edited By

hrnick, Dr Alan P Newman, Nana Flapjack, Meg...

  • hrnick
  • Dr Alan P Newman
  • Nana Flapjack
  • Meg
  • rbenn250

Published

February 13, 2014

Updated

March 27, 2022

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Sources
  • http://liamcurtin.co.uk/tide-organ-blackpool/
  • http://sculpturecollector.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/the-blackpool-high-tide-organ/
  • http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2002/07/53152
  • http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/casestudies/regeneration/great_promenade/description.php
High Tide Organ
501-507 Promenade
Blackpool, England, FY4 1BA
United Kingdom
53.793096, -3.058095
Get Directions

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