This is and other excellent factoids in a strange little piece on the Guardian website:
“Inspired by Mayor John Bickerstaffe’s visit to the Eiffel Tower in 1889, it survived a fire at the top eight years later and was largely rebuilt in 1921-4 because cheapskate owners had failed to use rust-proof paint. Mistaken for a lighthouse, it lured the Norwegian barque Abana ashore in 1894. With good binoculars, her fragmentary remains at low tide off Little Bispham form part of the middle-distance view.”
Previous posts on Blackpool on The Wired Jester.
Thats a great little snippet of info about Blackpool Tower. I didnt know that it had to be rebuilt due to Rust.
Blackpool Council are trying to buy the tower at the moment so they can run it and get more funding to invest in the attraction.