This year marks the 120th Anniversary of the opening of Tower Bridge.
In the late 19th century, the city authorities decided that an additional crossing of the river was needed downstream of the Pool of London. This meant that any crossing would have to include some way that masted ships could enter the Pool. They devised a design competition and over 50 entries were recieved. Most were for high bridges or bridges that opened but some were more imaginative.
The winning design was by John Wolfe Barry who with Horace Jones, the city architect oversaw the construction which took a labour force of nearly 500 men 8 years to complete.
From http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AJohnWolfeBarry2.jpg
The Bridge was finally opened on 30th June 1894.
These pictures were taken from an excellent exhibition running at the Guildhall Art Gallery in London to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the opening.
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