Blackpool Tower

Arthur Lloyd.co.uk The Music Hall and Theatre History Site Dedicated to Arthur Lloyd, 1839 - 1904. Above - The Blackpool Tower, and entrance to the Tower Dungeons, formerly the Aquarium, during renovation works to the Tower in August 2012 - Photo M.L. The Blackpool Tower was first opened on the 14th of May 1894 and is said to have been inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The Tower itself is just over 158 metres high and was designed by James Maxwell and Charles Tuke from an original idea by Blackpool's then Mayor, John Bickerstaff, after a trip to Paris. Bickerstaff invested £2,000 of his own money into the project and set up the Blackpool Tower Company with a consortium of local business men to fund the project. Right - The Blackpool Tower from inside the lift shaft, and below, the view from the lift - Photo M. L. August 2012. Construction of the Blackpool Tower began in 1891 , after the architects had laid the foundation stone on September the 29th, and in total the whole Tower Complex would cost £290,000 to construct and would see both its architects pass away before it was completed. When the Tower opened visitors could ride a lift inside the Tower, which would whisk them to the top for sixpence, and then admire the views of Blackpool from its viewing galleries. Today, after a major restoration which began in 2010, visitors are still able to ride a lift to the top of the Tower, or nearly the top, and then step out into a quite virtiguous space with Plexiglas floors, a wonderful experience but not for the faint hearted. From there you may climb spiral staircases to the three floors of open viewing galleries above. And from the top you can get a great view of the new Comedy Carpet which was inaugurated by Ken Dodd in October 2011 and contains 1,000 jokes, songs, and comedy catchphrases from many of Britain's best loved comedians from the past to the present (see below). You may like to visit the Blackpool Tower's own website here .