Take a Tour of London's Famous Bridges

The London Bridge we all know from the nursery rhyme was originally a timber structure built, and subsequently rebuilt many times, by the city's Roman founders as the sole crossing over the River Thames.
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Text and photography by Lee F. Mindel for Architectural Digest

2014-10-28-cn_image_1.size.londonbridgeh545new.jpgThe Tower Bridge photographed from The Shard building.

The London Bridge we all know from the nursery rhyme was originally a timber structure built, and subsequently rebuilt many times, by the city's Roman founders as the sole crossing over the River Thames. It was replaced in medieval times and again in the 19th century as methods of construction changed. In 1968 the John Rennie-designed masonry London Bridge, built in 1831, was disassembled stone by stone and reconstructed in Arizona; it was replaced by the current structure, which opened in 1973. Today there are more than 30 bridges that weave a tapestry across the Thames, each created in response to industrialization, various monarchies, and the capital city's explosive growth.

2014-10-28-item0.rendition.slideshowVertical.londonbridges01hammersmithbridge.jpgHammersmith Bridge
2014-10-28-item1.rendition.slideshowVertical.londonbridgehammersmithdetail.jpg A detail of Hammersmith Bridge
2014-10-28-item2.rendition.slideshowHorizontal.londonbridges02batterseabridge.jpgBattersea Bridge
2014-10-28-item3.rendition.slideshowVertical.londonbridges03batterseabridgedetail.jpg
A detail of Battersea Bridge
2014-10-28-item4.rendition.slideshowHorizontal.londonbridges04albertbridge.jpgAlbert Bridge
2014-10-28-item5.rendition.slideshowHorizontal.londonbridges05albertbridgedetail.jpgA detail of Albert Bridge looking towards Chelsea Bridge

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