Blackpool Tower
| Blackpool Tower | |
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 Location in Blackpool
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| General information | |
| Type | Observation tower, Radio tower |
| Location | Blackpool, Lancashire, England |
| Coordinates | 53°48′57″N 3°03′19″W / 53.81583°N 3.05528°WCoordinates: 53°48′57″N 3°03′19″W / 53.81583°N 3.05528°W |
| Completed | 1894 |
| Management | Blackpool Council, Merlin Entertainment Group |
| Height | |
| Roof | 158 m (518 ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Maxwell and Tuke |
| Structural engineer | Heenan & Froude |
| Designations | |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name | Tower Buildings |
| Designated | 10 October 1973 |
| Reference no. | 1205810 |
| Website | |
| www |
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Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it is 518 feet (158 metres) tall and is the 120th tallest freestanding tower in the world. The tower is a Grade I listed building.
The Blackpool Tower Company was founded by London-based Standard Contract & Debenture Corporation in 1890, when it bought an Aquarium on Central Promenade with the intention of building a replica Eiffel Tower on the site. John Bickerstaffe, a former Mayor of Blackpool, was asked to become Chairman of the new company and its shares went on sale in July 1891. The Standard Corporation kept 30,000 £1 shares for itself and offered £150,000 worth of shares to the public, although initially only two-thirds of these shares were taken up. This lack of interest forced the Tower Company to ask for further cash contributions from its existing shareholders, but the poor financial situation of the Standard Corporation, worsened by the falling share price, rendered it unable to pay. Bickerstaffe’s remedy for the potential collapse of the venture was to buy any shares available, until his original holding of £500 amounted to £20,000. He also released the Standard Corporation from their share commitments. When the Tower opened in 1894 its success justified the overall investment of nearly £300,000, and the Company made a £30,000 profit in 1896.
Two Lancashire architects, James Maxwell and Charles Tuke, designed the Tower and oversaw the laying of its foundation stone on 29 September 1891. By the time the Tower finally opened on 14 May 1894, both men had died.Heenan & Froude of Worcester were appointed structural engineers, supplying and constructing both the main tower, the electric lighting and the steel front pieces for the aquariums. A new system of hydraulic riveting was used, based on the technology of Fielding & Platt of Gloucester.
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