Where is this building? Ask for a name and brief introduction.

London, England: Tower Bridge is the first bridge at the mouth of the Thames in London, England (15 Bridge was built on the Thames), and it is also a symbol of London, so it is called "the gate of London".

brief introduction

Tower Bridge in London is a suspension bridge, originally a wooden bridge, and later changed to a stone bridge.

Outside tower bridge, London

Today, it is a six-lane concrete bridge. The two bridges in the river are 7.6 meters high and 76 meters apart. There are two towering square main towers on the bridge foundation, which are square five-story towers made of granite and steel, with a height of 43.455 meters. The two main towers have white marble roofs and five small minarets, which look like two crowns from a distance. The span between the two towers is more than 60 meters, and the tower foundation and the two banks are connected by cable suspension bridges. The bridge is divided into upper and lower floors. The upper floor (about 42 meters above the high tide level) is a wide suspended sidewalk with glass windows on both sides. Pedestrians can enjoy the beautiful scenery on both sides of the Thames when they pass the bridge. The lower floor is accessible to vehicles. When the 10,000-ton ship crossed the Thames, the machines in the main tower started and the bridge slowly separated and folded. After the ship passed, the bridge body slowly fell and the traffic resumed. Two movable bridge decks, each weighing1000t. Looking at the tower bridge from a distance, the Twin Towers are majestic. The bridge tower is equipped with stairs, museums, exhibition halls, shops, bars and so on. When you climb the tower, you can enjoy the scenery of ten miles up and down the Thames. If you encounter a foggy bridge, the landscape will be even more unique. The misty Locktower Bridge is one of the scenic spots in London.

From the bridge or the river, you can see that the British warship Belfast is parked on the river not far away. This is the most intact warship in Britain since World War II.

design

The design of tower bridge in London is quite reasonable, which is very important in the bridge construction industry in the world.

There is a reputation in it. There are two towers made of granite and steel on both banks, about 60 meters high, which are divided into upper and lower floors. The upper floor supports the towers on both sides, and the lower floor allows pedestrians and vehicles to pass. If the ship honks, the lower deck can automatically tilt to both sides, and pedestrians can be diverted from the upper deck. There are shops and bars on the bridge. Even in rainy and snowy days, pedestrians can shop, chat or bend over to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the bridge.

From the appearance, the two ends of the tower bridge are Victorian masonry towers, but in fact the structure of the tower body is mainly steel. It is equipped with hydraulic machinery for opening and closing bridges weighing 1000 tons. Since the tower bridge was built, its mechanical function has been normal and there has never been a failure. After the ship honks its horn, the crane can lift the bridge deck in only one minute.

The tower bridge is designed to meet the needs of shipping and highway traffic. The staff of Tower Bridge Museum explained that at that time, all the bridges were built in the west of Tower Bridge. In the middle of Victoria, with the development of trade, London began to expand eastward and considered building another bridge to ease traffic. However, the dock owner objected that the bridge would prevent their ships from passing through. After years of discussion, the tower bridge was finally built. After the bridge deck is opened, large ships can pass, and the transverse bridge deck is conducive to the passage of carriages. The overturning weight of each half deck exceeds1000t. Since 1895 tower bridge was put into full use, the bridge deck has been opened more than 6000 times, with an average of 10 times per week. Tower Bridge needs 25 people to be responsible for its operation and maintenance. Patterson, the person in charge, said that it takes five people to open the bridge deck. There is one person in the control room, and four others are outside monitoring the road conditions.

The two ends of the tower bridge are connected by four stone towers. The two main towers are 35 meters high, square and quaint, and look like two crowns from a distance, magnificent.

Edit this trip

Visitors can browse on foot on the tower bridge for free.

When visiting Tower Bridge, you can take the elevator from the tower bridge in the north to watch the structural engineering of the bridge, and then walk across the Thames from the high-altitude passage of the bridge to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Thames and its banks. There is an exhibition room in the tower to learn about the history and work of the bridge. At Westminster Bridge (behind Parliament Building), there is a tour of the Thames (Parliament Building-Tower Bridge) co-organized by cruise companies every day. The journey is near 1 hour, and the ship fee is about 8 pounds. Visiting the Tower Bridge Museum in London and the Belfast warship is charged and not cheap.

Edit this section of London Bridge

"London Bridge is going to fall down, to fall down. London Bridge is going to fall down, madam! "

Indeed, as this nursery rhyme sings, the London Bridge in history not only collapsed, but also collapsed many times. It is rare for a bridge like London Bridge to remain famous after repeated failures.

London Bridge: In the past, this rock was a promontory, highlighting the connection between the sea and the land. Due to the scouring and erosion of the waves, two round holes were formed, which just formed a double arch, hence the name "London Bridge". 1990 65438+1October 15 In the evening, the circular hole connected with the land suddenly collapsed and separated from the mainland, forming the broken bridge we see now. The power of nature is enormous, and the landscape shaped by nature has unparalleled magic!

In other words, London Bridge is a natural product, while Tower Bridge is a man-made masterpiece.

construct a bridge

Around 50 AD, it was famous for its engineering technology.

The Romans built bridges with wood on the Thames. This is the original London Bridge. After the Romans left, London Bridge gradually fell into disrepair, but at a certain time, it may have been repaired or rebuilt, but the time cannot be verified. 10 14, King Ethel Reid II of England ordered the London Bridge to be burned in order to split the invading Danish army in two. This incident is said to have led to the birth of the famous nursery rhyme "London Bridge Will Fall". The burnt London Bridge was rebuilt, but the rebuilt London Bridge was destroyed in the storm of 109 1 year. The rebuilt London Bridge was destroyed again in 1 136, but this time it was destroyed by fire. So from 1 176, people began to build the London Bridge with stones, which was finally completed in 1209. It took 33 years before and after the construction of the New London Bridge, during which it was said that 150 workers were killed. The newly-built London Bridge is probably the strangest bridge built in the Middle Ages, which is completely asymmetrical. Among the 65,438+09 arches, there are no identical arches. Besides the 19 arch bridge, there is also a suspension bridge. Houses and shops were quickly built on the bridge deck, and even a small church was built in the middle of the bridge. There is also a guard room at the southern end of the bridge. The arch of the bridge is very narrow and the current is very fast, so only brave or reckless people pass under it, and many people are killed.

bridge construction

The guard room at the southern end has become the most notorious attraction in London:

The traitor was beheaded, nailed to a stake and coated with asphalt to prevent corrosion. 1305, the head of the famous Scottish rebel leader william wallace was nailed to the door, which began a 355-year tradition. Other famous figures who were beheaded were Jack Cade in 1450, Sir Thomas Moore and Bishop John Fisher in 1535, and thomas Cromwell in 1540. 1598, a German tourist in London once counted the number of people crossing the bridge, and there were as many as 30. This tradition was finally abolished in 1660 after the restoration of charles ii. The buildings on the London Bridge not only bring fire hazards, but also increase the bearing burden of the bridge, so it is not surprising that there have been several disasters in history. At 12 12 or 12 13, the fire started from both ends of the bridge at the same time, and many people were trapped in the center, which is said to have caused 3000 deaths. A fire in 1633 destroyed half of the bridges. During the period from 1758 to 1762, the houses and two middle arches on the bridge were demolished, thus increasing the span and improving the navigation capacity.

rebuild

By the beginning of19th century, after more than 600 years of ups and downs,

London Bridge is overwhelmed and obviously needs to be rebuilt. So in 1799, a competition to design a new bridge to replace the old one began. During this period, engineer Thomas telford designed a single arch iron arch bridge with a span of 600 feet. Although this revolutionary design has been praised by people, it has never been realized. The reason is that people have doubts about its feasibility and the land area needed for construction.

Finally, a beautiful five-arch stone bridge stands 100 feet west of the original bridge site. The New London Bridge was designed by engineer John Rainey and supervised by his son (with the same name as his father). It lasted for 7 years (1824 to 183 1 year). The bridge is 928 feet long and 49 feet wide and is made of granite. During the period from 1902 to 1904, the bridge was widened, which eased the old problem of traffic congestion in London. Unfortunately, the widened bridge overwhelmed the foundation, and later it was found that the London Bridge was sinking at the rate of 1/8 inches per year.

Buy London Bridge

1968, London Bridge was designed and built by Rennie and his son.

Tower Bridge

It was sold to American entrepreneur Robert P. mccullough for $2.46 million. It is said that mccullough bought London Bridge because of a mistake: he mistakenly thought that he bought Tower Bridge, another famous bridge in London. People often confuse Tower Bridge with London Bridge. London Bridge was demolished and transported back to Lake Vasu, Arizona, USA. It was finally restored and opened to the public at 197 1 10. Today, the London Bridge in the desert has become the core of an artificial British theme park and the second largest tourist attraction in the United States after the Grand Canyon. But is the "London Bridge" that leaves London and the Thames still the London Bridge?

Today London Bridge

Today, the London Bridge across the Thames is built between 1967 and 1972, and part of the cost comes from the sale of the London Bridge to Rennie and his son. This new bridge is a rather boring three-span concrete bridge. It may be stronger and more practical, and besides, it is not as good as the old London Bridge.

In the past 2000 years, London Bridge not only witnessed the history of mankind, but also its own history is the development history of human civilization. From the wooden bridge to the stone bridge and then to the cement bridge, London Bridge has experienced several ups and downs, only the Thames water under the bridge and its own name remain unchanged. When will the London Bridge, which now crosses the Thames, end its mission? Will Luo Cheng buy it?

A London bridge was transported to America.

I read an article today, saying that London Bridge was bought in America, because it can't stand the increasing traffic for a long time. I was a little surprised. Isn't London Bridge well located on the Thames? After a careful look, I found that this bridge is not another one. This bridge is the London Bridge built by 183 1. What we usually call the London Bridge is the London Tower Bridge built by 1886 (there are two towers on it, and larger ships can be lifted from the bottom). London Bridge was sold by the British government to an American businessman, Mc Culloch, for $2,460,000 in 1962 (at that time, everyone thought the businessman was stupid). He cut up the bridge, then transported it to California, and then transported it by truck to Lake Ha Vasu in Arizona, which was originally an American air base during World War II, so it should be desolate. Mc Culloch dug an artificial river to build the bridge. Then a bridge was built for people to visit. There are many businesses, newspapers and schools in this city now.

London Bridge was bought by mccullough Oil Company in 1968 for $2.46 million. The bridge was broken down into 65,438+00,000 stones and transported to Lake Havaso in Arizona. The New London Bridge was rebuilt on a tributary of Lake Havaso, and the project was completed in 1973.

London Bridge has been in London for hundreds of years, but now it is located in Lake Vasu, Arizona, USA. Can the bridge move? Of course not, but it was moved from England to America, and every stone and brick was intact.

History of London Bridge

The first bridge over the Thames in London was built in 43 AD. This is a pontoon bridge, which was soon replaced by the first bridge, London Bridge. In 984, this bridge was replaced by the new London Bridge. Its life span is not too long, and it was eliminated in 1074. After 1 176, it took 33 years to build the first stone London bridge, but it took 600 years. Until 1824, another London Bridge took its place. The bridge was completed by John Laney and his son for two generations, and was designed and built by his father and son. My father is Scott, who graduated from Edinburgh University. From 179 1 He was one of the greatest civil engineers of his time. He built many canals, ports and bridges, the most famous of which was the Waterloo Bridge built in 18 17.

The construction of the New London Bridge took 800 migrant workers and seven years. It was one of the most important buildings in that period, and it also reflected the highest bridge-building technology in Britain at that time. The new bridge maintains two points of the original bridge: one is that the material is still stone, and the other is that the name of the bridge is still London Bridge, because it has lasted for 750 years.

London Bridge was auctioned off.

183 1 The bridge was completed in August of 1, marking the beginning of new bridge-building technology with the abdication of medieval monuments. On this day, the mayor of London led the royal motorcade across the bridge and held a grand banquet on the new bridge. The king and queen came in person. As the main entrance of London, the New London Bridge had a glorious moment, and foreign dignitaries and successive monarchs had to cross it when they came back from the European continent. But its main function is to let unpredictable vehicles and pedestrians pass. According to statistics, there are 15968 pedestrians on London Bridge from 8: 30 to 9: 30 every morning. However, the London Bridge in the 20th century can no longer meet the needs of the times, not only the bearing capacity of the deck is not enough, but also the bridge began to sink slowly due to the overweight deck. So various suggestions for widening the bridge deck were put forward and rejected, and finally it was decided to rebuild a new London Bridge. 1967, the bridge built by John Laney was decided to be sold. In order to pay attention to it, the British authorities printed the tender brochure beautifully and sent it to British embassies and consulates all over the world. Soon, foreign countries responded.

1968 April 18, London, new york and Phoenix announced at the same time that they would sell the London Bridge to the Macquarie Oil Company in Los Angeles for 2.46 million dollars. In terms of price, it may not be the highest bid. However, when the delegation of London Company visited Lake Ha Vasu in Arizona, USA, they saw the plan to build OCT here, and they thought this bid was the most suitable. As soon as the news came out, newspapers all over the world expressed it on the front page Maiguluo was very happy. He said that the London Bridge will be rebuilt in a way familiar to Londoners and tourists all over the world according to the original drawings of John Laney, the architect of Sulailan.

After all, London Bridge is British. It shows British civilization, and its sales have influenced Londoners. As soon as the bridge stone was demolished, all kinds of reaction letters complained to the newspaper like snowflakes. Some people complain why London Bridge lost to America. We should think that we are exporting our prosperity. There is also such a reaction: "We did the right thing. We sell Americans obsolete and useless things. Such an incident shows our sense of aristocratic superiority, because in Britain, after all, no one buys things thrown away by the United States, such as the rather old skyscrapers in new york. " Others said with emotion that if we don't do something now, Americans will buy our Buckingham Palace. Two teenagers said, "What will happen to our children if we sell London Bridge?"

Rebuilding London Bridge

It is very difficult and dangerous to dismantle London Bridge. /kloc-Mortars 0/30 years ago are still intact. Special care should be taken to avoid accidents. Don't throw stones into the river. Each stone on the bridge weighs one ton, and the largest one weighs five tons. * * * Ten thousand tons of exterior wall stone are unloaded and put on the dock, ready to be transported to California, USA, and then transported to Lake Vasu by truck. The whole process of dismantling the bridge took three years, and at the same time, a new cement London bridge was erected in the same place without interrupting traffic.

Lake Ha Vasu, located in Arizona, USA, was built on a desolate desert according to the plan of 1964. At present, the population is more than 20 thousand, which is developing rapidly and plans to increase to 75 thousand. The city was designed by Wood, who participated in the design of Disneyland.

On July 9th, 1968, the first stone was transported to Vasu Lake. The London Bridge on Lake Vasu was built while transporting stones. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 23rd 1968. The ceremony was grand and extraordinary, and the mayor of London led several important officials to attend. Before the ceremony, the governor of Arizona held a formal state banquet in Phoenix, the state capital. The Governor and Mayor of London personally laid the foundation stone for London Bridge in Lake Vasu. Thousands of people took part in such an important activity. The mayor said with deep feelings, I can't think of anything that can connect our two countries better than this bridge. London Bridge can be moved from one of the oldest cities in the world to the newest city in the world, which is really very happy and comfortable.

The reconstruction of London Bridge took more than three years and cost $7 million. Completed in the autumn of 197 1. The 643rd Mayor of London and the Governor of Arizona attended the completion ceremony and officially declared the opening ceremony. Nowadays, more and more tourists come to visit London Bridge, which symbolizes Britain's past, and the international new villages that have sprung up around it.

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge in London is a bridge across the Thames in London, England. It is named for its proximity to the Tower of London. It is sometimes called London Bridge by mistake, but in fact the real London Bridge is located upstream of it.

Adjacent buildings

The famous tourist attractions near Tower Bridge in London include the Tower of London, St Catherine's Pier and Shade Times Street.

design

/kloc-In the second half of the 20th century, with the development of London's economy, a bridge across the Thames is increasingly needed in the east of the city. But this bridge can't be a traditional bridge, because the pier is located between the London Bridge and the Tower of London. If the new bridge is too low, the ship can't reach the dock. 1870 opened a pedestrian subway under the Thames, but it still can't replace the need of building a new bridge.

A special committee was set up to discuss the solution to the problem of crossing the river. It launched a scheme design competition and received 50 different schemes. However, the subsequent discussion dragged on for a long time and caused a lot of heated debates. Finally, 1884, the Committee decided to adopt holas Jones's plan.

Jones's design is a 244-meter-long open bridge with two towers, each of which is 65 meters high. The middle length of the bridge is 6 1 m, and it is divided into two sectors, each of which can be erected at 83 degrees to allow river traffic to pass. These two bridge sections each weigh thousands of tons, and their axes are located at their centers of gravity to reduce the force required to lift them. They can be lifted in a figure of eight in one minute. At first, the lifting device was hydraulic, so it had six reservoirs to generate high-pressure water. The steam engine pumps water from the reservoir into the hydraulic device. Today, the bridge is lifted by an electric motor, but the ancient steam engine mechanism is still available for visit.

build

Tower Bridge in London 1886 was started and completed in eight years. Five major construction companies and ***432 construction workers participated. Two solid piers * * * used 70,000 tons of cement, and the tower used 1. 1.000 tons of steel. Granite and portland stone are laid outside the steel skeleton of the bridge tower and bridge body to protect the skeleton and increase the appearance.

Jones died in 1887, and his chief engineer, Sir John Woolf Barry, became the project leader. Wolf-Barry initially changed Jones' medieval surface decoration and adopted a more decorative Victorian neo-gothic decoration.

Tower Bridge in London was opened to traffic in 1894. The then British Crown Prince and later Edward VII attended the opening ceremony with the princess.

Tower Bridge in London today

There was a high pedestrian walkway between the two towers of Tower Bridge in London, but it was closed at 19 10 because there were many prostitutes and thieves there. Today it is reopened to tourists. There is a museum in the bridge tower, which displays the images of the bridge, the steam engines used in the past and so on.

Visitors can also book a "behind the scenes" tour, during which they can visit the command center of the bridge. Today, the two decks of this bridge rise and fall about 500 times a year.

Although today's water traffic is much less than in the past, it still takes precedence over road traffic. The rule of 1997 almost triggered a diplomatic incident. Due to the unexpected opening of Tower Bridge in London, the car of then US President Bill Clinton had to stop and wait in front of the bridge. [2]