British Telecom Tower: 12 interesting facts you must know
There are several magnificent things to check out during a London trip. The more you will see, the more you will become fond of the English capital. However, in order to make the most of your visit to the capital city of England, you need to make some great plans so that you do not have to miss a single opportunity of mesmerizing your vacation desires. It is not every day that you get the chance to visit a city like London which has carved a niche for itself in the history for being the pot pours of culture, art, heritage, fashion, entertainment and business. You absolutely cannot let go of this wonderful opportunity where you can check out some fantastic soul enriching sights and attractions during your upcoming holiday break. If it is a holiday which you wish to cherish for a lifetime then look ahead to visit none other than the city of London which definitely encompasses all of it that it takes to spruce up your holiday spirit.
There are several fascinating things to check out while visiting London city. Some of them are namely Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral and several more. You must also look forward to ride on the London Eye which is considered to be the largest Giant Observatory Wheel that lets you explore several majestic overviews of the entire city of London in the most significant manner. Apart from that, you can also look ahead to enjoying a leisurely stroll along the banks of River Thames which will enlighten your vacation spirit in the most unbelievably pleasant manner.
Once you are done checking out all of these sights and attractions which are considered to be the most favourites of every vacationer who cones over from different parts around the world for fulfilling his or desires of having a pleasurable vacation break, you can move ahead to seeing some other attractive things as well. One of them is most certainly the BT Tower.
It is the iconic landmark that rules the city skyline of London city. It has captured the wondrous imagination of every visitor since its inception fifty years back.
The BT Tower London was constricted with the purpose of supporting the aerials that were required for setting up the telecommunication processes. The Tower stands tall and continues to make the city proud of its wonderful possessions. Although it is surrounded by even taller skyscrapers, the British Telecom Tower has been a marvel of its time. It was built as the Post Office Tower and was commissioned by the General Post Office. The sole purpose behind its construction was to handle the communication traffic of the nation. This is the reason why the mid-section gets covered with several microwave aerials.
While staying at one of the hotels near The Piccadilly London West End, you can look ahead to check out the wonderful essence of making the most of your London visit. You can also check out the British Telecom Tower which happens to be positioned in the centre of the city while putting up at a hotel over here.
The construction of the Tower was started in the year 1961 and got completed in 1964. Listed below are some of the most interesting facts about the Tower which is considered to be one of the most explored iconic structures in the capital city of England.
- The Tower has been enjoying the status of being an iconic landmark since its construction days. The continuous presence of such a large crane having a great height allured several visitors to this sight.
- When the construction got completed, the tower with a height of 191 meters became the then tallest building in the city of London. Prior to the construction of the British Telecom Tower, the tallest structure so the city were St. Paul’s Cathedral and then Millbank Tower. BT Tower held the title for being the tallest building of the city until the construction of Tower 42 that redefined the essence of ruling the skyline in 1980.
- The chief architects who designed the Tower were G. R. Yeats and Eric Bedford belonging to the Ministry of Public Building and Works.
- The intention behind its construction was to house the microwave aerials. At present the microwave aerials have been removed.
- The construction of the Tower was followed by a harsh critic for the design which was considered as inappropriate.
- BT Tower was constructed for a cost of a whopping 2.5 million pounds and 13,000 tons of concrete got used in the process.
- The Tower was meant to be shorter in height but it had to be extended for broadcasting signals over the Chiltern Hills which formed the north rim of the basin of London city.
- The elevators that had been installed in the building in the year 2000 have the ability to go to the top floor within 20 seconds. Since they have got the ability to ascend at 7metres every second, they are considered to be one of the fastest lifts ever installed in Europe.
- There is a Revolving Restaurant at the 34th Floor which was built in a way so that it could complete a full 360 degrees rotation every 22.5 minutes. The restaurant was named as the Top of the Tower and was operated by Billy Butlin. The Restaurant ran on nylon bearings and rollers having a two brake horsepower motor.
- The Tower was opened to the public in the year 1966 but was closed to public access in 1980 for some security issues.
- A bomb was detonated in the men’s toilet of the restaurant in the tower by the Provisional IRA in 1971.
- The tower has featured in several books, television programs and films including the famous Dr. Who., London and V for Vendetta.
You are going to have a blissful time ahead while exploring the Tower in person during your vacation in London.
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