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 SD306360). The tower is 158 m (518 ft 9 in) tall. It 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. It is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers.

1 The Tower
2 The Tower and Blackpool
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] The Tower

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, Winter Hill, southern Cumbria, North Wales, and the Isle of Man, in addition to Blackpool and the rest of the Fylde peninsula. An additional 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, which 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 a local FM station (RadioWave 96.5) 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.

In 1900, the tower was rebuilt with 14 platforms.

[edit] The Tower and Blackpool

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.