The promenade vista is constructed with perennial visual tropes which have evolved and embraced

typographic influences since the 19th Century. Inscribed, painted, or fabricated letterforms form part of

the expected ‘image’ of the seaside and are integral to the visual packaging of our trip to the seaside.

Lettering, typography and its relationship to architecture and place – if sometimes misunderstood and

under-valued – has been fundamental to the identity and formation of British resorts. In assessing the

origins of the typographic landscape on the seafront, piers, theatres, and theme parks, we can observe