The Kursaal sits at the east end of the Southend seafront and is one of the oldest purpose-built amusement buildings in the world. It opened in 1901 as a "people's palace" of arcades, gardens and entertainment — the name comes from the German for "cure hall", but here meant something closer to an indoor seaside resort under one roof. The Baroque-revival main building, with its distinctive copper-clad dome and lantern, was once flanked by a 26-acre amusement park.
The funfair closed in 1973 and most of the surrounding land has been built on, but the Grade II listed central building survives. It now operates as a tenpin bowling alley and casino, but the exterior — particularly the dome — is the genuine Edwardian original, and the building is a striking landmark from the seafront and from the train at the nearby Thorpe Bay station.