The Tower alone contains 2,493 tons of steel and 93 tons of cast iron.

When the BBC programme Antiques Roadshow was staged in the Tower in 1989, its experts were asked to give a valuation of the Silver Tower, but they would not hazard a guess.


Long before he became famous as a Hollywood film star, the comedian, W.C. Fields, spent a season before the First World War at the Circus as a juggler.

Escapologist Karl Bartoni and his bride were married suspended in a cage from the Tower in 1982.

The ‘Walk of Faith’ glass floor panel was placed at the Tower Top in 1998. The glass floor weighs half a tonne and is made up of two sheets of laminated glass.


The building at the base contains 985 tons of steel and 259 tons of cast iron.

Each of the four legs of the Tower rest on concrete foundations 35 feet square and 12 feet deep.

There are 563 steps from the roof of the Tower building to the flagpole at the Tower Top. These steps are for use by the maintenance teams for upkeep of the structure.

The first marriage to be performed in the Ballroom was in February 1996.

The Tower Top is closed if the wind speed exceeds 45 miles per hour.

650,000 people visit the Tower every year.

The largest tank in the Aquarium holds 32,000 litres of salt water.

The Circus ring when flooded can hold up to 42,000 gallons of water to a depth of 4 feet 6 inches.

The first Wurlitzer organ was installed in the Ballroom in 1929. It was replaced in 1935 with one to Reginald Dixon’s specification. The first organ went to the Empress Ballroom of the Winter Gardens.

In the 1950s, the Tower Belt was a much sought after prize.

The Ballroom floor measures 120 ft by 102 ft. It comprises 30,602 separate blocks of mahogany, oak and walnut.

In hot weather, the roof of the Ballroom can slide open to release excess heat.

Excluding his time in the RAF during World War Two, Reginald Dixon played the Ballroom’s Wurlitzer organ from 1930 until his retirement in 1969. He returned for a farewell concert in 1970 to mark 40 years at the Tower.

Phil Kelsall has played the organ at the Tower since 1975. He began playing in the Circus.

Among the Ballroom’s one-time strict rules were: - ‘Gentlemen may not dance unless with a lady’ and ‘Disorderly conduct means immediate expulsion’.

In September 1893 local journalists became the first members of the public to ascend the Tower using constructors’ ladders.

There are more than five million bricks in the Tower Building

In the Ballroom from the early 1900s, dancing was interspersed with variety entertainment, moving picture shows, aerial gymnasts and even swimming displays in a crystal tank.

The inscription above the Ballroom stage, ‘Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear’, is from a sonnet by Shakespeare - Venus and Adonis.

The names of 16 composers are to be found around the Ballroom.

Originally dancing was not permitted on Sundays. Instead of dancing, an evening of sacred music was performed.

The Silver Model of the Tower was presented to the Chairman of the Tower Company, Alderman (later Sir) John Bickerstaffe by the Shareholders in 1898 in appreciation of his role in ensuring the Tower was built and its ensuing success.

In 1949 a Post Box was placed at the top of the Tower, and letters / postcards franked ‘Posted at the top of Blackpool Tower’s.

Jungle Jim’s was originally the Tower Roof Gardens with palms, ferns and a concert area.

Each of the large crystal chandeliers in the Ballroom can be lowered to the floor and takes over a week to clean.

From 1927 to 1930 the Roof Gardens was also Midget Town, which included a sports club, town hall, post office and garage. It was ‘populated’ by a troupe of midgets.

It takes seven years to paint the Tower structure from top to bottom.

Among the famous artistes who have performed at the Tower during its 110 years are Arthur Askey, Duke Ellington, Paderewski, Dame Clara Butt, Cleo Laine, Peter Dawson and more recently teenage heart-throbs Busted.

The foundation stone of Blackpool Tower was laid on 25th September 1891 and a time capsule was buried beneath it.

Ten thousand light bulbs are used to illuminate the Tower.