Millennium Bridge & Tate Modern: The Wobbly Span to St Paul's
Why is it significant?
Conclude your journey on the silver aluminum deck of the Millennium Bridge, right at the mid-river lookout. Turn to the north: before you rises Sir Christopher Wren's majestic dome of St Paul's Cathedral, framed perfectly by the bridge's slender suspension cables.
Key Facts
| Place | Millennium Bridge & Tate Modern: The Wobbly Span to St Paul's |
|---|---|
| Address | Thames Embankment, London EC4V 3QH |
| Geo Coordinates | 51.50950, -0.09850 |
| Part of Walk | Thames Maritime Secrets: Tower Bridge, Borough Market, and Southwark Taverns |
| Generated | Generated |
Conclude your journey on the silver aluminum deck of the Millennium Bridge, right at the mid-river lookout. Turn to the north: before you rises Sir Christopher Wren's majestic dome of St Paul's Cathedral, framed perfectly by the bridge's slender suspension cables. Now turn south: the imposing brown brick chimney of Tate Modern rises ninety-nine meters into the clouds, transformed from Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's nineteen forties Bankside Power Station into the world's most visited modern art museum.
Designed by architect Norman Foster and sculptor Anthony Caro, the Millennium Bridge opened on June tenth, two thousand, as London's first new bridge across the Thames in over a century. However, as thousands of pedestrians stepped onto the span, an unexpected synchronous lateral footfall caused the bridge to sway alarmingly from side to side! Londoners instantly christened it the Wobbly Bridge, and it was closed just two days later to install thirty-seven hydraulic dampers.
Look down closely at the aluminum grating under your feet: you might spot miniature paintings created by street artist Ben Wilson, who has spent twenty years transforming discarded chewing gum trodden into the metal into tiny colorful works of art.
As church bells chime across the water and the tide swirls past the bridge piers, you have traversed the seafaring soul of London.