Blackpool Tower
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The Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in the town of Blackpool, Lancashire, in the north of England (Grid reference ). The tower, 518.9ft (158 m) tall, was inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It cost GBP £42,000 to construct, and it first opened to the public on 14 May 1894.
Unlike the Eiffel Tower, it is not quite free-standing, its base is hidden by a building housing the Blackpool Tower circus. The top of the tower is accessed by two lifts. There are four viewing platforms open to the public, the lower of which is completely enclosed. These afford views of much of Lancashire, southern Cumbria, North Wales and the Isle of Man, in addition to Blackpool and the rest of the Fylde peninsula. A further two platforms and the "crow's nest" are only accessible to staff. The enclosed lower platform contains a glass floor above the south-west leg that allows visitors to look down on the street below. The tower is topped by a flagpole, and normally flies the Union flag except during the illuminations when the flagpole is lit by nearly one hundred lamps. The tower is used as a transmission location by one local radio station and a variety of non-broadcast services. National and regional FM services do not use the tower, because inland locations provide sufficient coverage of Blackpool. The tower is normally painted dark red, but for its centenary in 1994 was painted gold.
Blackpool is a popular seaside resort, and the tower, with its beachfront location, is the main attraction. The tower is lit during the annual illuminations, when the town and seafront are adorned with colourful displays of bulbs that stretch up and down the waterfront for several kilometres.
The complex houses the world famous Tower Ballroom and the equally famous 'Mighty Wurlitzer Organ' where Reginald Dixon played for 40 years. The Wurlitzer is still played on a daily basis in the main holiday season.
It is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers.
Image gallery
See also
External links
- [Blackpool Tower and Circus] - The Official website with Tower information and online booking
- [Blackpool Tourism: Blackpool Tower]
- [Computer-generated virtual panorama from the top of the Tower] - Detailing places and distances (4224x2706 px)
- [Snapshots of the Blackpool Tower] - Viewed from the technical point side (Radio Wave transmitters)
- [The Blackpool Tower on the International Database and Gallery of Structures]
- [Satellite view of the Blackpool Tower, on Google Maps]
- The movie [Funny Bones (1995)] features the tower on several key scenes.
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