Description of the attraction
Spinnaker Tower is a 170-meter tower in Portsmouth Harbor, one of the city's main attractions. Residents of the city chose this particular from many projects submitted for the competition - a tower in the form of a sail, reminding that the history of Portsmouth is the history of navigation and shipbuilding. The tower project was developed back in 1995, and in the project the tower was called the Millennium Tower, but due to funding delays, etc. was built only in 2005. Then it got its name - Spinnaker (English Spinnaker - a type of triangular sail).
The tower is 170 meters high - two and a half times the height of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. It is the tallest structure outside London to climb. The tower is a great landmark and is visible far beyond Portsmouth, even from the Isle of Wight. Two curved steel arches give the tower a sail-like appearance, and there is a triple observation deck at the top. From there you can see the panorama of Portsmouth and the surrounding area at 320 ° and at a distance of 37 km. The upper observation deck, the so-called "crow's nest", is covered with a steel mesh roof. The platforms are glazed, the floor is also glass - this is the largest glass floor in Europe.
Since its opening, the tower has attracted many visitors - contrary to expectations and despite the fact that so far only an internal closed lift is in operation. An external glass elevator was planned on the tower - but until now it cannot be brought into working order. On the day of the grand opening of the tower, an incident occurred - the chief project manager was stuck in the external elevator together with the management of the construction company and the elevator manufacturer. I had to call for help from industrial climbers. Many considered this incident to be very symbolic.
