October 8, 1965: The BT Tower - Britain’s tallest building - opens in London

TV mast, communications transmitter, restaurant and London landmark all in one, the Post Office Tower was opened by Harold Wilson 51 years ago today.

At 189 metres high, the Post Office Tower literally towered over every other building in the capital when the iconic London landmark now known as the BT Tower opened on this day in 1965.

Built from 13,000 tonnes of steel and 4,600 square meters of glass.

The tower was commissioned by the General Post Office to support microwave aerials carrying telecommunications transmissions from London to the rest of the country.

2017 - Colourful, 360-degree LED-light display – known as the ‘Information Band’ – was launched in October 2009 and is the largest of its kind in the world.

‘Top of the Tower’, The 34th floor was built to incorporate a revolving restaurant that could complete a full rotation every 22.5 minutes.

Tower in 2012

BT Tower was built for a cost of £2.5 million and used 13,000 tonnes of concrete.

The tower was designed by architects Eric Bedford and G. R. Yeats, and its cylindrical shape was chosen because it meant that the building would shift no more than 20cm (or one third of a degree) in high winds – a necessity for the aerials it carried.

The BT Tower opened on this day in 1965 - take an exclusive look behind the scenes. #otd #london #bttower pic.twitter.com/5zGPYtXfZW

— BT (@bt_uk) October 8, 2017