Watkin's Tower

Watkins Tower (also Wembley Park Tower ) is the name of an unfinished tower construction project in London. The built in the years 1891-1894 according to the model of the Eiffel Tower is 47 meters high tower stump was demolished again in 1907.

History

Ideas and designs

Shortly after the construction of the Eiffel Tower struck Sir Edward Watkin, a member of the British Parliament, the right to build a tower in Wembley Park, which should be 53.3 meters higher than its " competitor" in Paris with 353.3 meters. A competition was announced and presented numerous designs. Many of the designs looked before acting very playful towers who were released due to lack of construction functionality. The initiator of the project, Sir Edward Watkin, even tried originally Gustave Eiffel himself to enlist as a designer; The Frenchman however, refused on patriotic grounds.

The winning design originally foresaw an eight-legged metal tower, which was soon modified to a four-footed, the Eiffel Tower -like style. The design of Stewart, MacLaren and Dunn saw before that the tower should have two viewing platforms at different levels with restaurants, theaters, exhibition and dance rooms and a hamam.

Construction and demolition

A company for the edification of the Watkin Towers was founded in 1889 and the construction of the tower and the investment surrounding the park began in 1891. According to the foundation work the concrete foundation was finished and pulled up in the following years, the tower up to the first platform. When the park was opened in 1894, the tower was only 47 feet high. Of the approximately 100,000 visitors to the park only bought around 18,500 enthusiasts a ticket for the ramp to the first and only platform of the unfinished tower. In addition to the lack of interest of the population in 1894 was also the end of the money and the work was stopped in the same year. The tower stump was removed only in the years 1904-1907 and 2700 tons of scrap metal exported to Italy.

Current situation

At the site of the former tower is now home to the famous Wembley Stadium. Today in London there are two large steel lattice towers, but without viewing platform, namely the Crystal Palace Tower and the transmitter Croydon.