Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge is a bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It is occasionally incorrectly referred to as London Bridge, which is in fact the next bridge upstream.

Construction of the bridge took from 1884 to 1886. The official opening ceremony was conducted by the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and his wife, Alexandra of Denmark.

It is a bascule[?] bridge, designed to allow vehicle traffic to cross the river in the eastern, commercial area of London, whilst still permitting large ships to pass along the river. It was designed jointly by architect Horace Jones[?] and engineer Sir John Wolfe Barry[?]. The architectural style is Victorian Gothic. The bridge is 800 feet in length, with two towers, each 213 feet high. The high-level walkways were never much used and were closed in 1910, but have now been reopened. The towers and walkways contain an exhibition about the Bridge's history.

It is not possible to visit the bridge's command center (where the raising of the bridge is controlled when a vessel passes underneath), but there is a guided tour. The bridge opens around five hundred times a year.

To the south of Tower Bridge is Tower Bridge Road which is part of the London Inner Ring Road.

Nearby places of interest

• Design Museum
• Tom Blau gallery
• Tower of London
• St Katherines Dock
• St Saviours Dock

Nearest tube stations

• Tower Hill tube station[?] (Circle and District Lines)
• Tower Gateway DLR station[?] (Docklands Light Railway)
• London Bridge main line station and tube station

External links

• Official website (http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/)