The Open Guide to London: the free London guide - Differences between Version 12 and Version 11 of Tower Bridge

Version 12 Version 11
== Line 20 == == Line 20 ==
category='Bridges,Landmarks,Major Attractions,River'
easting='703053'
 category='Bridges,Major Attractions,River'
== Line 24 == == Line 23 ==
formatted_website_text='http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/ '
host='195.110.84.91'
hours_text=''
 formatted_website_text='http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/'
== Line 30 ==
major_change='0'
== Line 32 == == Line 27 ==
northing='5710050'
opening_hours_text=''
phone=''
 modified='2005-01-15 19:56:33'
== Line 36 == == Line 29 ==
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 telephone='(020) 7403 3761 '

http://husk.org/pics/imgs/walks/wander/regents_park_thames_2002-07-14/tower_bridge_lit.jpg
Photo: blech.

Tower Bridge is often mistaken for London Bridge since it is the most famous bridge crossing the Thames.

Its location - the east side of the City of London, and thus nearer to the mouth of the river - means that builders had the problem of how to allow ships to go underneath. Their solution, chosen in 1884 after eight years of discussion, was by Horace Jones, the City Architect, in collaboration with John Wolfe Barry, and it was a combination bridge which uses two “see-saw” roads which can be lifted to allow very large ships underneath. (The technical name for this kind of bridge is a “bascule” bridge, which is indeed French for see-saw.) The hydraulics that move the bascules were steam-driven until 1976.

Tours are available around the bridge from the Tower Bridge Experience.



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