Tower Bridge is a combined drawbridge and suspension bridge in London built between 1886 and 1894. The bridge crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and has become an iconic symbol of London. Tower Bridge is sometimes confused with the historically known London Bridge, situated some 0.5 mi (0.80 km) upstream.
The bridge consists of two bridge towers tied together at the upper level by two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal tension forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The two towers carry the vertical components of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways. The drawbridge pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower.
The bridge deck is freely accessible to both vehicles and pedestrians, whereas the bridge’s twin towers, high-level walkways and Victorian engine rooms form part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition, for which an admission charge.
Highlights of the Tower Bridge, London
- Tower Bridge Exhibition
- Original steam engines
- Victorian engine rooms
- High-level walkways
- Bridge’s twin towers
Tower Bridge, London
- Museum: Tower Bridge, London
- City: London
- Country: United Kingdom
- Type: Historical Site
- Opened: 1894
- Location: Tower Bridge Rd, London, UK
- Design: Bascule bridge / Suspension Bridge
- Length: 801 ft (244 m)
- Height: 213 ft (65 m)
- Clearance 28 ft (8.6 m) (closed); 139 ft (42.5 m) (open)
Explore London’s Museums and Heritage Sites
- The British Museum
- The National Gallery, London
- Tate Britain
- The Wallace Collection
- The Victoria and Albert Museum
- Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace
- Courtauld Gallery
- Tate Modern, London
- Science Museum, London
- National Portrait Gallery, London
- Natural History Museum
- Charles Dickens Museum
- Hampton Court Palace
- Sherlock Holmes Museum
- British Library
- Imperial War Museum
- Churchill War Rooms
- Florence Nightingale Museum
- Foundling Museum
- Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy
- Cutty Sark, Royal Museums Greenwich
- National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
- Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich
- Queen’s House, Greenwich
- Royal Observatory, Greenwich
- Guildhall Art Gallery, London
- HMS Belfast
- Jewel Tower
- Jewish Museum London
- Bank of England Museum
- London Transport Museum
- Museum of London
- Museum of London Docklands
- National Army Museum, London
- Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology
- Royal Air Force Museum London
- Sir John Soane’s Museum
- City of London Police Museum
- Household Cavalry Museum
- Museum of Freemasonry
- Tower Bridge, London
- Tower of London
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“The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.”
– Bertrand Russell
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