Blackpool Tower is unsurprisingly located in
Blackpool,
Lancashire. It dominates the sky line at 158.11 metres (518 ft 9 inches), this is an
impressive sight in a town with a population of just 150,000. It took 2 and a half years to build, and was finally opened on the 14th May, 1894 (
Whit Monday). The Tower cost my
Victorian ancestors a huge £45,000 to build ($70,000), and to pay for it, they charged 6d (about 3 cents) for admittance, compared to the £11 ($16) they charge today.
The tower was built to model the Eiffel Tower, it is only half its size because the weather conditions on Blackpool's sea front (very windy) do not permit the full 1,000ft. However a rival company (Blackpool Winter Gardens) almost built a second tower which would have rivalled the Eiffel Tower. Another difference between the Eiffel Tower and Blackpool Tower is that the legs of the tower cannot be seen (they are encased in concrete), instead the first few stories of the tower are obfuscated by buildings.
These buildings contain the international Tower Circus, Jungle Jim's (a children's adventure playground), the Ballroom and an aquarium (some of the tanks therein predate the Tower itself, and were used in the aquarium that once stood where the Tower now does).
Hidden in the corner stone of the Tower is a time capsule, that amongst other things, contains a voice recording of Sir Matthew Ridley who laid the foundation stone. Right at the top of the Tower this is The Walk of Faith, an idea taken straight from the glass floor at CN Tower.
Sources:
http://www.blackpool.com
http://www.allanburke.freeserve.co.uk/
http://www.glasssteelandstone.com