So, yesterday I had to meet a little friend in Goodge St who had arranged a surprise for me. Had no idea what it was, until we were right outside. Even then coon’t quite believe it. Fulfilled a life-long dream, and it was an incredible experience for me. I was actually quite overwhelmed by it in fact.

But what was it Elf??? I hear you cry.

Well, and you is gonna be well jealous innit no seriously you are…

…I went up to the top of this:

Yeah, yeah, I know! Surprised? I was stunned. I’m still buzzing now from it!

So, I’ve bin saving this theme for the right moment, and this is perfect. Post pics of yer favourite towers and skyscrapers; can be little follies or huuuuuge great monsters.

And I now you’re jealous (speshly Binners), but that’s how life goes sometimes; some of us are priviledged, the rest of you aren’t. 😐

jealous? pshaw laddie, i ate there when it was a restaurant, and not too bad it was either. did you know it turned? the restaurant part did at about 3 rpm. the balcony didn’t.

Be worried when he offers to take you up the oxo tower next time

Towers of Florence and Siena..

[img]http://www.planetware.com/i/photo/siena-ir1129.jpg[/img][img]http://photos.igougo.com/images/p412587-Florence-Palazzo_Vecchio_and_Torre_dArnolfo.jpg[/img][img]http://www.thecultureconcept.com/circle/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Giotto-Bell-Tower-Florence.jpg[/img]

tiz my office on lefty – centrepoint, sydney

And although using similar stone, heres one closer to home.. Sotty.

3 rpm with that diameter! Wouldn’t the forces have you pressed against the glass?

Skyscrapers eh? Hong Kong is amazing.

and another thing, i lived in paris at the time, and this is how we crossed the channel

SRN4 Mountbatten Class Hovercraft. It ruled.

Big hovercraft, meal on the spinning po tower – epic weekend

I’m still in ore of this, SOlar Tower near Seville..

3 rpm with that diameter!

hmm maybe 3 mpr – it was a long time ago

My hotel from a recent trip to Shanghai;

Skyscrapers eh? Hong Kong is amazing.

Indeed. Was there a couple of weeks ago. Some stunning sights!

And in Lucca

Rode past this on Sundays Skyride…

2011-08-07 11.53.56 by lowey.com, on Flickr

bikebuoy – for you
san gimignano

Perhaps this should have been added to last weeks “Brutalism” angled thread..

Milano

..and for bravehearters everywhere

Sorry, had to include this beauty..

Glasgow science Centre tower completely useless

Dusseldorf..

This is lost in the forest near me:

The Burrard Neale Monument or sometimes know as The Walhampton Monument
Sir Harry Burrard Neale held the office of member of Parliment for Lymington at differnt times between 1790 to 1835.
he gained the office of Lord of the Admiralty between 1804 and 1807, and the rank of Admiral of the Royal Navy in 1810. he was invested as Knight Commander and Knight Grand Order of the Bath in 1815 and 1822 repectively, the the Knight Grand Cross in the Order od St Michael and St Georgein 1824.
In 1825 he became Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet of the Royal Navy. During his naval career he saw a considerable amount of action and under his orders 20 enemy ships of war were destroyed.

I am indeedy jealous Fred. Did you take some aerial rioting pictures for the BBC 😉

I like this one – the Sky Tower in Aukland, which has a glass paneled floor and makes you go very woozy indeedy

But my favourite tower has to be on the northern riviera

😀

jealous? pshaw laddie, i ate there when it was a restaurant, and not too bad it was either.

Well, you must me quite a bit older than me, cos I was just a kid when the restaurant closed down. My family probbly woon’t have bin able to afford to eat there anyway. The tower has bin closed to the public for 30 years, and I never thought I’d ever get to go up to the top.

Sadly, I din’t think to take a cam. 🙁 This is just from a ‘phone cam:

Pics can’t do it justice though, BBSB will tell you; the dizzying effect of looking from the horizon to the ground directly below is very disconbobulating!

For a Londonphile like me, it’s the ultimate treat! 🙂

The Torre Velasca is by BBPR – including Richard Roger’s cousin…
I’m currently sat near the top of the citigroup building. Good view from in here – not much smoke though…

[edit]… seems like big cloud of black cloud somewhere to the north of the Olympic site

Kilesberg Tower in Geramny, quite funky..

I give you….. The Birmingham Post Office Tower

and of course The Birmingham University Clock Tower

Currently the tallest skyscraper on earth. Burj Khalifa.

and its apparently soon to be successor, the Kingdom Tower

Now there’s the obvious history with these, but i’ve always loved these buildings (in fact skyscrapers in general, keem them coming)

New York is famed for it’s skyscrapers, but the truth is there’s only a hayndful of tall buildings there which are actually architecturally interesting. Most are just monolithic slabs without any individual merit, tbh.

This one is a bit nice though:

Two of my local towers:

Well, you must me quite a bit older than me,

<ahem> it was 33 or 34 years ago
does it still spin? and is the balcony still open? it was barred but not glassed IIRC and you could walk out and around it. Pretty cool, i’d have to say

anyway, let’s be honest, there’s some interesting towers, but most deserve

This one is right near me – Trent Building at Nottingham University.

Nice one crispo. Two very familiar, and bloody great ones, This is the one I see the most of nowadays

I went up this tower in 1980: –

CN Tower!

A bit of comparison.

As for New York towers being uninteresting. Big square boxey building are what interests the people that want to occupy buildings in financial centres. So generally the only interesting or quirky towers will be the ones designed to promote like most of the recent towers in the middle east and to a lesser extent the shard or those designed to symbolise something like the replacement for the world trade center.

The shard only really gets away with being commercially viable because they have managed to use the varying floorspace intelligently. Big lower floors for commerce smaller upper floor as residential and hotel space.

Calgary Tower

And the view from the top (not my feet, but I have an almost identical picture!)

The two towers of Perrott’s Folly and Edgbaston Waterworks in Birmingham, just round the corner from the Oratory where Tolkein used to hang out.

The cause of many problems

Shanghai is a great place for towers.

The BT tower is a great place to visit in London. Have been fortunate enough to go to the top quite a few times, and the revolving restaurant is great fun. It will re-open as a restaurant as part of the Olympics next year and from then onwards.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/eating_out/article6898128.ece