The picture on the right of the Tower Bridge was scanned from a postcard my father sent to my mother while he was stationed in England during World War II. It shows a very different view of the Bridge's environment than what I became familiar with during my stay in London. (I was so taken by this postcard that I used it as the title graphic for my London blog; if you like old postcards and want to see more of the cards Dad sent from England, click here.) The many wharves and docks that had congested the Upper Pool, from London Bridge to the Tower, which were so vividly depicted in the latest Sherlock Holmes incarnation, have been replaced with pleasant embankments and upscale office and residential space. But the Tower Bridge remains an elegant and powerful symbol of London.

The Bridge is obviously stunning visually and fascinating from a technical standpoint. But one thing it's not is part of the much, much older Tower of London, only the proximity of which gives it its name. It was opened in 1894, while Tower construction dates a wee bit further back, to the 11th century! This Wikipedia article about the Bridge gives some great historical and technical information about its construction—it had to be made as a partial drawbridge to allow large ships access to the Upper Pool, but it was still needed as a footbridge. Hence, the upper walkways. The article includes some wonderful photographs.

I found it practically impossible not to take dozens of photos of the Bridge myself every time I took a new guest on their River embankment tour. You will notice some cosmetic changes in some of these photos, as there were increasing refurbishment works going on while I was there. The earlier photos show only a modicum of scaffolding on the south bank-side suspension cables, whereas later, that whole side of the Bridge approach is covered in scaffolding. Impressive photo opps were still on offer, though, as I hope you'll agree.

You can see larger versions of these photos, as well as a few more, in this Flickr set.

One of my favorites of the early pictures, for obvious reasons, is this one, taken from the Tower's embankment, when I had both kids visiting me in September:

Here are a couple of long-shot, panoramic views of the structure, first in September, then in October, and you can see the growth of the scaffolding. The picture on the left was taken from the Tower Embankment, the one on the right from the South Bank.

And here are somewhat closer looks, also from September and October. These were taken from the north and south banks, respectively, as well.

As impressive as the Bridge looks full-on, I seem to have thought that end-on views of it made better pictures. Judging by the number of photos I took from these vantage points, at least. Here are three of my favorites, all taken in September. On the left, I was standing just downstream, and on the right, just upstream. In the middle is one from a little further along the upstream side, along the Tower Embankment:

Of course, the Bridge isn't just a remarkable piece of architecture, but it's utilitarian as well, providing the last bridge crossing of the Thames, heading downstream, before the Dartford crossing, which is several miles away. (This handy Wikipedia page lists all the Thames crossings—note all the tunnels, but few bridges, downstream of the Tower Bridge.) Here are some photos showing how the Bridge interfaces with the city streets, at least on the north bank (Tower) side. Henry took the one on the left, showing the approach to the main part of the Bridge, from the Tower Embankment, and I took the one on the right from within the Tower complex itself.

Here are some photos taken on the Bridge itself, showing what a busy pedestrian and automotive crossing it is. Note in the photo on the left, taken in September as we started to cross from the South Bank, the beginnings of scaffolding on that section of the suspension cables. The photo in the middle, taken from the observation point midway over and looking toward the South Bank, shows how much more was up by October.

You can see the scaffolding, on the left, plus those lovely, ornate, Victorian towers, up close and personal here, in this trio of pictures taken from the bridge walkway:

And here are three more closeups, first of the auto archway and then of the very tops of the towers, from two different vantage points, looking up:

Even closer, here are two of Henry's photos of City of London insignia that were on the Bridge. I'm glad he often thinks to get shots of these kinds of delightful little details:

Although the Tower Bridge wasn't something that Anne Boleyn, the little princes, or any of the other famous or not-so-famous residents of the Tower of London could see out of their cell windows, it does provide a dramatic background for many views of the Tower structure as you tour it today. Here are some of my favorite photos of the Bridge, taken from within the Tower complex as I saw it in November:

Since it was November, it got dark early and they had put the lights on in the compound by the time I took the photo on the right below:

I'll close this collection with two long shots of the Bridge from much earlier in my stay, on the day when the kids and I took our boat ride to Greenwich. The photo on the left was obviously taken from the tour boat, just after we'd passed under the Bridge. On the right was a shot I took much later in the day, as we walked back upstream from it, taking the scenic route to a bus home. Even though it still looked and felt like summer, from the turning grass in the foreground you can tell that fall wasn't far off.

Back to Dream Season home • Back to London home • Back to River home • Back to Bridges home