Day 3, Part 1: Monday, November 5, 2001

 
    

   

   

The above photos were taken of the Tower Bridge. (As you can see, this was our second day of blue skies and bright sunshine.) The bridge is a very recognizable landmark in London. It is the eastmost bridge on the Thames. The next bridge to the west is the famous London Bridge (of which I have no photograph). The Tower Bridge was built after much controversy and study. The people of east London desperately needed another bridge to enable access to the southern side of the Thames, but those who were concerned with commerce and shipping did not want to cut off all important wharfs from river traffic. The solution was to build a draw bridge that could easily be opened and closed. It was completed in 1894 and was opened and closed hundreds of times (I think they said over 600 times) in the first year. The bridge was very advanced for the time. They took the basics from smaller bridges that already existed in Holland, but the scale of the Tower Bridge is much larger than anything than had been attempted at the time. The things which go across the top of the bridge from one side to the other are walkways. They were open to the public until the only people using them were rather unsavory. It was closed until they developed the bridge as a tourist attraction. Now people can pay to go through the exhibits and walk across the walkway to the other side. The walkways are now completely enclosed and heated. I bought a few postcards at the Tower Bridge gift store which you can view by clicking on this link.

The above photo was of the top of a building that was visible from the entrance to the Tower of London.