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→Later Changes
==Later Changes==
The next big change for the beach was the railway beginning in the 1840s and going through a boom period in the 1850s-1860s. Towns such as Blackpool in northwestern England began to transform as popular sea-side resort towns with large boardwalks built to accommodate the middle classes now visiting beaches. The railroad made accessing these towns not only easier but also affordable for many people. Working conditions began to evolve with holiday periods given and factories beginning to institute one week in the year where they would close for maintenance. This created the opportunity for beach holidays to develop. Most of the actual time spent at a beach town was not on the actual beach but rather the boardwalks that diverted people's attention. Fairs, carnivals, and showmen would all compete for people's money and time. At the beach, the bathing machines began to be installed on beaches along some of the towns. However, what prevented large numbers of people using the beach was that beach activity was usually considered not a family activity but rather the sexes were separated since it was considered immodest to swim in the presence of the other sex and in public. In fact, swimming was often seen unacceptable for a married woman. Laws in England, such as in Suffolk, stated that a woman could not bathe in “a place at which any person of the male sex, above the age of 12 years, may be set down for the purpose of bathing." Swimwear, which covered nearly the entire body, was still considered immodest to see in view of the opposite sex. This made the beach less of a family activity and more an activity between friends or individuals wanting a swim.
Although the UK is not known for having the best beach weather, it was English love of the beach that started a trend of mass tourism where people began to visit beach resorts. In France, the French Riviera began to be developed as a popular beach area, particularly Nice. Interestingly, it was often visiting British in these towns rather than locals that led to the initial development of the French Rivera. However, in the 1870s more people began to see the beauty and fun of going to the beach and throughout Europe beach towns began to develop. Monte Carlo, the famed gambling place, developed as a town visited by tourists in the 1870s to enjoy the seaside views and beach. Interestingly, it was continental Europeans who began to influence bathing and swimming culture. In Europe, attitudes towards nudity and exposing one self were far more lax than Britain. The idea of stripping to minimal clothing or even being nude in going for a swim developed already by the 1870s, although this was not universal. In the United States, the late 19th century also began the trend of seaside towns and resorts. Florida, New Jersey, and other coastal places began to develop resort towns. In England alone, there were 100 resort towns with more than 50,000 people by the end of the 19th century. The seaside holiday and spending time on a beach now became part of the normal holiday cycle, although swimming was not common for many people at the beach and sunbathing on a beach was frowned upon.
