Construction of Tower Bridge

1889

This rare photograph, taken in 1889, captures a breathtaking moment in engineering history: the Tower Bridge under construction. The two iconic towers, each anchored on massive piers, stand incomplete across the River Thames, their upper walkways yet to meet. Fog rolls in from the river, while a rowboat in the foreground adds a poetic human scale to the monumental steel skeletons rising in the mist.

Built to ease congestion and connect East London, the Tower Bridge project was a marvel of Victorian ingenuity, combining bascule and suspension bridge technologies. Today, it is one of the most famous and photographed landmarks in the world.

This image immortalizes the bridge at its turning point—not yet united, but full of promise.

📍 Keywords: Tower Bridge construction 1889, historical photos of London, old River Thames bridges, Victorian engineering, London landmark under construction, building Tower Bridge.