THE BLACKPOOL TOWER HERITAGE

Below you’ll find facts from The Blackpool Tower’s opening through to present day

• There are more than five million bricks in the Tower Buildings
• Each of the four legs of the Tower rest on concrete foundations 35 feet square and 12 feet deep
• The Blackpool Tower first opened to the public on 14th May 1894
• The original admission charge to the Blackpool Tower Buildings was 6d (sixpence) and a further 6d to go up the lifts to the Tower Top. The Circus admission was also extra
• Originally 10,000 light bulbs were used to illuminate the Blackpool Tower. These have been replaced by 25,000 eco-friendly LED lights
• It takes 15,000 yards of carpet to cover the floor of the Blackpool Tower Building
• The Tower alone contains 2,493 tons of steel and 93 tons of cast iron. The building at the base contains 985 tons of steel and 259 tons of cast iron
• The height to the top of the flagpole is 518 feet 9 inches
• The original Tower was only going to be 450 foot high
• The Blackpool Tower generated its own electricity until 1924
• The Blackpool Tower and Tower Buildings had cost approximately £290,000 by 1896. The original tender for the Blackpool Tower itself had been £42,000, but extra steel was needed to make it perfectly safe and this raised the figure to about £65,000
• It takes seven years to paint The Blackpool Tower structure from top to bottom. This time includes the replacement of any corroded steelwork
• The Blackpool Tower is a Grade One Listed Building
• The total area occupied by the Tower Buildings is 6,040 square yards
• The Silver Model of The Blackpool Tower was presented to the Chairman of the Tower Company, Alderman (later Sir) John Bickerstaffe by the Shareholders in 1898, in appreciation of his role in ensuring The Tower was built and its commercial success. After the death of Sir John Bickerstaffe, it was stipulated in his will that the Silver Tower should remain in The Blackpool Tower