London’s iconic Tower Bridge celebrates its 125th anniversary on Sunday by showing off the weird and wacky alternative designs that were nearly built instead.
The globally-recognized landmark which opens and closes for large boats plying the River Thames, has become one of the symbols of the British capital.
But it could have been very different.
The fairy tale castle-style masterpiece was just one of 50 designs which vied to solve the conundrum of erecting a much-needed new bridge that would still allow large ships into what was the world’s busiest port.
“There were all sorts of weird and wonderful, really creative ideas,” said Tower Bridge head Chris Earlie.
“There were spiral roadways—like you would see in car parks—either side of the River Thames and then a high-level bridge,” the bridgemaster told AFP.
“One design that got quite far was a very high-level bridge with long approaches. But it was found that horses pulling carts would get exhausted before they got near the top!”
Other ideas included rotating bridges or even tunnels.
Engineer John Wolfe Barry and architect Horace Jones’ winning design was a bridge that flips open in the middle, with huge chambers in the feet of two towers to accommodate the counterweights swinging down as the bridge halves swing up.
For the anniversary weekend, some of the alternative designs are being recreated to be displayed on the bridge for passing pedestrians to study.
Actors in Victorian costumes will wander about, portraying the workers, engineers and bridge-users of the time.
Twelve concerts are planned in the counterweight chambers inside the tower legs, featuring original compositions that can handle the ambient noise of the road above and the tidal river outside.
The chambers can accommodate 50 concert-goers, Earlie said.
The bridge took eight years to build and was opened on June 30, 1894 by the future king Edward VII and queen Alexandra.
It cost about £1.6 million or about $250 million in today’s money.
The critics were sniffy, feeling its Victorian Gothic style was pastiche and unambitious.
However, it very quickly became a much-admired London landmark.
In its first year, the steam-powered bridge was opened more than 6,000 times.
Now run on oil and electricity, it opens around 850 times a year, mainly for tourist vessels, which must give 24 hours’ notice.
The original remains a draw in the social media age, providing a defining image of a trip to London.
Earlie said: “Everyone seems to have a story about Tower Bridge, or an emotional connection to it.”