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The Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it is and is the 100th tallest tower in the world.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=100 Tallest Towers - The Skyscraper Center )〕 The tower is a Grade I listed building. ==Construction== The Blackpool Tower Company was founded by London-based Standard Contract & Debenture Corporation in 1890, when it bought an Aquarium on Central Promenade with the intention of building a replica Eiffel Tower on the site. John Bickerstaffe, a former Mayor of Blackpool, was asked to become Chairman of the new company and its shares went on sale in July 1891. The Standard Corporation kept 30,000 £1 shares for itself and offered £150,000 worth of shares to the public, although initially only two-thirds of these shares were taken up. This lack of interest forced the Tower Company to ask for further cash contributions from its existing shareholders, but the poor financial situation of the Standard Corporation, worsened by the falling share price, rendered it unable to pay. Bickerstaffe’s remedy for the potential collapse of the venture was to buy any shares available, until his original holding of £500 amounted to £20,000. He also released the Standard Corporation from their share commitments. When the Tower opened in 1894 its success justified the overall investment of nearly £300,000, and the Company made a £30,000 profit in 1896.〔Lancashire Record Office DDX1444 introduction〕 Two Lancashire architects, James Maxwell and Charles Tuke, designed the Tower and oversaw the laying of its foundation stone〔 on 29 September 1891.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = Ward Book of Days )〕 By the time the Tower finally opened on 14 May 1894, both men had died.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = Icons )〕 Heenan & Froude of Worcester were appointed structural engineers, supplying and constructing both the main tower, the electric lighting and the steel front pieces for the aquariums. A new system of hydraulic riveting was used, based on the technology of Fielding & Platt of Gloucester.〔Stephan Mills: (''Fielding & Platt, An innovative Gloucester engineering company. The fist 100 Years, 1866–1966'', S. 11 )〕 The total cost for the design and construction of the tower and buildings was about £290,000.〔 Five million Accrington bricks, 2,500 tonnes of iron and 93 tonnes of cast steel were used to construct the tower.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = World Federation of Great Towers )〕 Unlike the Eiffel Tower, Blackpool Tower is not free-standing. Its base is hidden by the building which houses Blackpool Tower Circus. The building occupies a total of .〔 At the summit of the tower there is a flagpole; A time capsule is buried beneath the foundation. The design of the tower was ahead of its time. As a writer for the BBC noted: "In heavy winds the building will gently sway, what a magnificent Victorian engineering masterpiece."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blackpool Tower」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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