A G: London Day 1 by Aaron, Tower Bridge, Monument, London Bridge, TATE Modern

London Day 1, Tower Bridge, The Monument to the Great Fire of London, London Bridge, TATE Modern

~ Aaron

Tower Bridge and Tower and London

At Tower Bridge

On Millennium Bridge

See St. Paul Cathedral behind us

At Tower Bridge

We had a wonderful time in out first day at London. The Tower Bridge was interesting to me. The Monument was tall, and the view from its top was beautiful. We also saw the London Bridge and walked on it. It was originally built by the Romans, and its location hasn’t changed much since. The TATE Modern was an art museum full of artwork from modern times. These attractions were all very attractive.

At London City Hall

Tower Bridge Opened at 4:15pm

Tower Bridge

On Tower Bridge

One of the towers on Tower Bridge

On Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge Exhibition

The Tower Bridge has a relatively short history. A huge challenge faced the City of London Corporation - how to build a bridge downstream from London Bridge without disrupting the river traffic. To get ideas, the "Special Bridge or Subway Committee" was formed in 1876, and opened the design for the new bridge to public competition. Over 50 designs were submitted , but it wasn't until October 1884 however, that Horace Jones, the city architect, working with John Wolfe Barry, offered the chosen design for Tower Bridge as a solution. It took eight years, five major contractors and 432 construction workers working each day just to finish building the Tower Bridge in 1894.

Steel on Tower Bridge

Steam machine for Tower Bridge

Steel on Tower Bridge

The original steam engine of Tower Bridge

2nd floor of Tower Bridge

Glass floor, 2nd floor of Tower Bridge

Boat on Thames River

viewed from glass floor

2nd floor of Tower Bridge

Glass floor, 2nd floor of Tower Bridge

Step on the splitting part

of Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge opening

Tower Bridge closing

Tower Bridge, viewed from Tower Wharf

When a boat that is too tall to cross the Tower Bridge needs to cross, the central part of the bridge is lifted. It acts like 2 drawbridges, which give enough space for the boat to pass. This used to be done by steam power, but it has been done using oil and electricity since 1976. There are 2 towers on the bridge, and you can go up on any of the towers. Above the bridge, there is a concrete walkway connecting the towers, and some parts of its floor is glass. You can see down into the bridge from the glass parts.

The monument of the Great Fire of London

The monument of

the Great Fire of London

Climb to the top of the monument

on its spiral stairs

Climb to the top of the monument

on its spiral stairs

View of St. Paul Cathedral dome

from the top of the Monument

Tower Bridge viewed

from the top

of the Monument

Tower Bridge viewed

from the top

of the Monument

The Monument to the Great Fire of London is a very tall monument to commemorate the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire of London in 1666. The fire began in a baker’s house in Pudding Lane, and extinguished a few days later after destroying most of the city. The only buildings that were still left were the ones built of stone. A monument was built to show how the king helped everyone after the Great Fire. It was built between 1671 and 1677. The monument is precisely 202 feet high, the exact distance between it and the site in Pudding Land where the fire began. The Monument can be climbed through the 311 stairs in the middle of it. At the top, I felt very tired, but also happy I reached the top because of the lovely view.

London Bridge and the Shard

Standing on London Bridge

London Bridge

Another famous bridge could be the London Bridge. The first "London Bridge" was built by the Romans in 43 A.D. After this, there were many reports afterwards of different bridges in relatively the same place. These are all the “London Bridges”. In 1962, the current London Bridge was “falling down”, and was auctioned off so a new one could be built. It was finally opened to traffic in 1974.The current design is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel.

Walked past by

St. Paul Cathedral

St. Paul Cathedral
4th Cathedral to occupy its position
over a 1400 year history

Garden

St. Paul Cathedral

Garden, St. Paul Cathedral

Outside of St. Paul Cathedral

Millennium Bridge

On the Millennium Bridge

See Tower Bridge and Shard far away?

Beautiful Millennium Bridge,

a bridge linking TATE Modern and St. Paul Cathedral

The Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso

TATE Modern

Babel 2001

a radio tower
TATE Modern

Autumnal Cannibalism
TATE Modern

TATE Modern

The TATE Modern is full of the many different kinds of modern art. There is even a Picasso painting inside of a weeping woman holding her dead child. Many other paintings also reside in this building. Besides paintings, there were also many sculptures and some large pieces of cloth stitched together. There was even a tower completely made of radios in the museum, and all of the radios were tuned to different channels! Outside of the museum, there is also a display with mist where mist is sprayed from somewhere. I had plenty of fun in the mist, but was soaking wet when I finished playing. I hid from my mom in the mist, and she had a hard time finding me. I had so much fun doing so that I lost track of time and didn’t realize that I had spent a long time in the mist. My brother, on the other hand, walked to the mist, felt it, and thought it was enough.

TATE Modern mist A

TATE Modern mist B

TATE Modern mist

This day in London was unforgettable. The Tower Bridge amazes me with its design and how it still properly functions as if it were new. The Monument is a historical piece of London, and reminds everyone who passes it about the Great Fire in 1666 that burned down most of London. The London Bridge is very historical. The TATE Modern is full of pretty artwork. These attractions make this day in London one of the best days I ever had.