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BT Tower
Construction of the 189m (620ft) BT Tower began in June 1961 designed by a team led by G R Yeats under the direction of Eric Bedford to serve as a telecommunications centre to transmit Telephone, TV, voice, and date via microwave radio.
The BT Tower was opened on Friday 8th October 1965 by Priminister Harold Wilson who unveiled a plaque at the base of the tower before riding the lift to the 34th floor for a panoramic view of London.
The Tower was opened to the Public on 19th May 1966 by Tony Benn and Billy Butlin and apart from the telecommunications and office's there was a viewing gallery, souvenir shop and a slowly revolving restaurant on the 34th floor used to host a Butlins-leased restaurant named "The Top of The Tower" which completed a 360° turn every 22 minutes.
Unfortunately a bomb exploded in the roof of the men's toilets at the Top of the Tower on October 31, 1971 and it was subsequently closed to the public for security reasons. The restaurant was closed in 1980 when Butlins' lease expired and the restaurant floor is now used strictly for corporate sponsorship events and promotions only.
many people still remember it as the Post Office Tower from the days when the post office was responsible for both the postal and the telephone service where letters collected from the Tower were franked "Posted at the Post Office Tower".
In 1984 the Tower was renamed "The London Telecom Tower" but today is known as the "BT Tower". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BT_Tower)
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