Blackpool Tower and the Long Human Love of Towers

This article updates the story of Blackpool Tower while tracing the human impulse to build towers. It covers the Tower's role as a seaside attraction, ancient precedents such as ziggurats and the Pharos, medieval cathedral spires, and the impact of iron and glass in the 19th century, culminating in the Eiffel and Blackpool Towers.

Blackpool Tower: a seaside icon

Rising above Blackpool's Golden Mile, Blackpool Tower has been the town's most recognisable landmark since it opened on Whit Sunday, 14 May 1894. Early visitors paid sixpence to enter the main building. Over more than a century the Tower has combined sightseeing (a high-level viewing platform and, since the 21st century, a glass-floor walkway), family attractions (the Circus and the Ballroom) and seaside kitsch to make a distinctive British landmark.

On a clear day the view from the Tower stretches inland toward the Cumbrian fells; on windier days visitors can feel the structure move slightly. The Tower also forms the centerpiece of Blackpool's famous illuminations each autumn, and the Tower Ballroom remains a popular place for dancing to the famed Wurlitzer organ.

Why people build towers

Towers appear across cultures because they impress, mark territory and help people see - or be seen. Throughout history towers have served as lighthouses, watchtowers, defensive keeps, temples, and statements of civic or religious ambition.

Ancient ambition: the Tower of Babel and ziggurats

One of the oldest stories about tall buildings is the Tower of Babel in Genesis, an origin myth about human ambition and divine intervention. Archaeologists link the story to Mesopotamian ziggurats - stepped mud-brick temple towers built from around 2200 BC. Ziggurats were visible for miles in the flat river plain and advertised a city's religious and political importance.

The Pharos: a lighthouse as wonder

The Lighthouse of Alexandria (the Pharos) was one of the ancient world's most famous towers. Begun in the 3rd century BC, it guided ships for more than a thousand years and was counted among the Seven Wonders. Contemporary descriptions and later reconstructions estimate its height in the hundreds of feet, but precise figures and details remain debated.

Medieval competition and spires

In medieval Europe towers and spires became status symbols. Norman keeps dominated conquered landscapes; later cathedral builders raced to greater heights. Lincoln Cathedral's medieval spire reportedly reached about 525 ft (160 m) and for a time made the cathedral the tallest building in the world until the spire collapsed in the 16th century.

Iron, glass and the modern tower

The Industrial Revolution introduced iron and glass as construction materials and changed what tall structures could look like. Projects such as London's Crystal Palace showcased exposed ironwork. Gustave Eiffel applied structural iron to create the 1889 Eiffel Tower in Paris, a new model for modern towers that famously met fierce criticism before becoming an enduring symbol.

Blackpool Tower, completed in 1894 and inspired by the Eiffel Tower's example, shows how towns adapted the new language of iron construction for entertainment and civic pride.

Standing tall today

Towers still perform practical functions - navigation, broadcast masts, observation - and cultural ones: monuments and tourist attractions. Whether built of mud brick, stone or steel, towers continue to express the same blend of utility, technology and the human urge to be seen.

1. Confirm the commonly accepted original and current height figures for Blackpool Tower and specify them precisely.
2. Verify the estimated height and archaeological evidence for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos) and decide on a figure or a clearer caveat.
3. Confirm the year the glass-floor walkway or similar high-level attraction was installed at Blackpool Tower and its official name.