Since it was built in 1986, Towers Street has only seen one complete overhaul in the early 90s, which saw the Towers Street we know today come into existence, complete with Leapfrog Fountains and grass islands. However, over the years various ideas have been put forward as to ways the street could be rejuvenated and here we take a look at some of those.
Shown in the first image is the initial concept for the street which played heavily on idea of it being the entrance to the park and portal through which guests are guided into the world of Alton Towers, featuring a large compass as its central feature. Other interesting features include the retention of the Leap Frog Fountains, the inclusion of an ice cream parlour, a feature seating area and grand staircase at the entrance. Also somewhat amusing is the inclusion of a dedicated refreshment cart for queues at Guest Services.
As a follow-up to Project Dolphin, the park looked at redeveloping various areas including the Gardens, the Old Railway site and Swan Boat Lake. Out of the end of this process came The Haunted Hollow and Mutiny Bay. Towers Street was also considered for a redesign at this time and the next images show the potential plans, including a redevelopment of the Leapfrog Fountains, a Topiary Feature and a seating deck (and again the seeming addition of an ice cream parlour at one end of Towers Trading).
The final two images show a concept that has actually came to fruition. The purple and gold stars look for the entrance plaza became a familiar sight for park guests, but here we have the conceptual drawing from the early 2000s to project what this look would be like.
