Tower Bridge

While Ryan is home from university and before he starts his summer internship in London, we've been trying to get out and about and do the sightseeing stuff.  We took a tour of the famous Tower Bridge in London.

Tower Bridge in background

The iconic Tower Bridge that is seen in so many photos of London is often mistakenly called the London Bridge. It is located near the Tower of London so I suppose that's where it gets its name. The London Bridge was getting so crowded that a new bridge was built in 1894 to offload some of the traffic.

The new bridge was considered a triumph of engineering at the time, using hydraulic power on a scale never attempted before. A steam engine powered a see-saw type mechanism for raising and lowering the drawbridge. The hydraulic power was also used to operate elevators in the towers to take pedestrians up to the walkways. The idea was that pedestrians wouldn't have to wait to cross while the drawbridge was lifted for a ship to pass through. They could go up to the walkways and walk across well above the drawbridge activity below.

Letting a sailboat pass

Sometimes the best plans are for naught, however. The drawbridge was able to be raised and lowered so quickly that the pedestrians preferred to just wait. The walkways were closed by Parliament in 1910 due to a lack of use.

Today, the walkways are used for an exhibition showing the history of the bridge. They still provide stunning views over the river.

I found it interesting that the bridge was only minimally damaged during World War II. The Germans found it a useful navigational landmark to guide them to the rest of the city so they avoided bombing it.