The theatre was damaged in 1973 and following a buy-out was demolished in 1986, changing the pier's character from seaside entertainment to an amusement park, with various fairground rides and roller coasters.

The pier remains popular with the public, with over four million visitors in 2016, and has been featured in many works of British culture, including the gangster thriller Brighton Rock, the comedy Carry On at Your Convenience and the Who's concept album and film Quadrophenia.

The pier entrance is opposite the southern end of Old Steine (the A23 to London) where it meets Marine Parade and Grand Junction Road which run along the seafront.

The inaugural ceremony for laying of the first pile was held on 7 November 1891, overseen by Mayor Samuel Henry Soper.

[8] A condition to be met by its builders, in exchange for permission to build, was that the Chain Pier was to be demolished as it had fallen into a state of disrepair.

It was designed to resemble kursaals, which were entertainment buildings found near spas on the Continent, and included reading and dining rooms.

[9] Both Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin performed at the pier to hone their comic skills early in their career, before migrating to the US and finding major commercial success in Hollywood.

[9] The pier regained its popularity after the war, and continued to run regular summer shows, including Tommy Trinder, Doris and Elsie Waters and Dick Emery.

[17] Entertainment continued to be popular at the pier; the Spice Girls made an early live performance there in 1996 and returned the following year after achieving commercial success.

[1] The Palace Pier caught fire on the evening of 4 February 2003, most of it reopening the following day with police suspecting arson.

A representative from the Health and Safety Executive said that inadequate procedures were to blame for the fact that nothing had been done to alert staff or passengers that the ride would be dangerous to use.

[24] The pier management came into criticism from Brighton and Hove City Council, who thought they were relying too much on fairground rides, some of which were being built too high.

In contrast to the redevelopment and liberal culture in Brighton generally, it has retained a traditional down-market "bucket and spade" seaside atmosphere.

[25] In 2016, the Brighton Fringe festival director Julian Caddy criticised the pier as "a massive public relations problem".

The Booster is a pendulum ride by Fabbri, which catapults people 130 feet (40 m) into the air, turning upside down in the process.

[33] The Who's 1973 concept album Quadrophenia was inspired in part by band leader Pete Townshend spending a night underneath the pier in March 1964.

[35] The 2015 British TV series, Cuffs, which takes place in Brighton features the pier, both in the opening theme as well as in parts of the story lines.