Tower Bridge

**Tower Bridge** is a drawbridge in London. It crosses the River Thames near the Tower of London. It allows ships through the bridge deck when is raised at an angle in the centre.

The north side of the bridge is Tower Hill, and the south side of the bridge comes down into Bermondsey, an area in Southwark. Tower Bridge is far more visible than London Bridge, which people often mistake it for. Many tourists go to London to see the Tower Bridge. It has its own exhibition centre in the horizontal walkway. This gives one of the best vantage points in London.

The "bascules" are the surfaces raised to allow tall ships to pass through: this happens about 900 times per year. The bridge's decks (bascules) can be raised to 83o from the horizontal.

## History
The City of London Corporation held a competition for the design in 1876. Over 50 designs were entered, and in 1884 Horace Jones and John Wolfe Barry's design was chosen.

Workers began to build the Tower Bridge in April 1886 and the bridge was opened on 30 June 1894.

In June 2012, the bridge was highlighted on the  of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the Thames.

## Design
The bridge is  in length with two towers, each  high, built on piers. The central span of  between the towers is split into two equal bascules or leaves, which can be raised to an angle of 83o to allow river traffic to pass. The bascules, weighing over 1,100 tons each, are counterbalanced to minimize the force required and allow raising in five minutes. The bascules are raised by huge hydraulic pumps which were first powered by steam engines. In 1976 these were replaced by oil and electricity. These walkways allow people to still cross the river, even when the bridge is raised. They were closed in 1910 because not enough people used them, but were reopened in 1982.

## Gallery
### Tower Bridge,London Getting Opened

File:Tower_Bridge,London_Getting_Opened_1.jpg|Tower_Bridge,London_Getting_Opened_1
File:Tower_Bridge,London_Getting_Opened_2.jpg|Tower_Bridge,London_Getting_Opened_2
File:Tower_Bridge,London_Getting_Opened_3.jpg|Tower_Bridge,London_Getting_Opened_3
File:Tower_Bridge,London_Getting_Opened_4.jpg|Tower_Bridge,London_Getting_Opened_4
File:Tower_Bridge,London_Getting_Opened_5.jpg|Tower_Bridge,London_Getting_Opened_5
File:Tower_Bridge,London_Getting_Opened_6.jpg|Tower_Bridge,London_Getting_Opened_6
File:The Tower Bridge, London completely opened.jpg|The Tower Bridge, London completely opened

### Tower Bridge Photo

Opening of Tower Bridge 1895.jpg|The opening of Tower Bridge, painted by William Wyllie in 1895
File:Tower_Bridge,London_Construction_photo_2.jpg|Tower_Bridge,London_Construction_photo_2
File:Tower Bridge, London Under Construction 1.jpg|Tower Bridge, London Under Construction 1
File:Tower Bridge, London Under Construction 2.jpg|Tower Bridge, London Under Construction 2
File:Tower Bridge, London Old photo.jpg|Tower Bridge, London Old photo
File:The invitation of opening of Tower Bridge, London.jpg|The invitation of opening of Tower Bridge, London
File:The Tower Bridge, London.jpg|The Tower Bridge, London
File:Tower Bridge Day.JPG|Tower Bridge during day
File:Tower Bridge London Feb 2006.jpg|Tower Bridge at night
File:Tower-bridge-air.jpg|Tower Bridge area from the air
File:London 2010 Tower Bridge.jpg|Tower Bridge seen from the north bank of the Thames
File:Tower-bridge-south-view.jpg|South view at dusk
File:TowerBridge SvG2.jpg| Close-up of walkways, illuminated at dusk
File:tower.bridge.7.basculecloseup.london.arp.jpg|Close-up of opened bascules
File:Tower Bridge 2007 3.jpg|The south tower, showing pier at river level

## Related pages 
* List of crossings of the River Thames

## References 
## Other websites
* Tower Bridge Exhibition 
* Tower Bridge