London photos: #61 (Tower Bridge)

Tower Bridge is arguably the most recognisable bridge in the world. In central London, on the opposite banks of the Thames River, there are two Victorian Gothic towers connected above the water by a canvas of a transport highway and a high indoor gallery. Designers of the 19th century had to work the project to make the new bridge over the river not just an overpass for the rapidly increasing flow of traffic, but also a design that would harmoniously fit into the architectural style of the capital. Now it is hard to believe, but at the end of the 19th century Tower Bridge was the only place in the downtown where you could move from one bank of the Thames to another. Construction took 8 years, and in 1894 the 265 meter bridge was finally completed. Many Londoners at first did not like its Victorian Gothic design, but gradually got used to it, and over time the bridge became one of the main symbols of London.