Waterloo Bridge
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Waterloo Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge.
The first bridge on the site was designed by John Rennie and opened in 1817 as a toll bridge. Before its opening it was known as 'Strand Bridge'. It was nationalised in 1878 and given to the Metropolitan Board of Works, who removed the toll from it. Serious problems were found in its construction and the new owners reinforced it.
By the 1920s the problems had increased. London County Council decided to demolish it and replace it with a new structure designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. The new span was partially opened in 1942 and completed in 1945. It was the only Thames bridge to have been damaged by German bombers during World War II.The building contractor was Peter Lind & Company Limited.
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The south end of the bridge is the area known as The South Bank and includes the Royal Festival Hall, Waterloo station, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Royal National Theatre. The north end passes above the Victoria Embankment where the road joins The Strand and Aldwych alongside Somerset House.
Trivia
The British Progressive Rock band "UK" -- featuring John Wetton on vocals, Terry Bozzio on drums and Eddie Jobson on keyboards -- sings about the Waterloo Bridge in its haunting song "Rendezvous 6.02" (Danger Money, Polydor Records, 1979, subsequently released on compact disk by Caroline Records, under ID number 1585, and EG Records, under ID number EGCD-39). The song also appears on John Wetton's "greatest hits" album "Kings Road 1972-1980" (EG Records, 1987).
External links
| Bridges of Central London, west to east |
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| Chelsea Bridge | Grosvenor Bridge | Vauxhall Bridge | Lambeth Bridge | Westminster Bridge |
| Hungerford Bridge | Waterloo Bridge | Blackfriars Bridge | Blackfriars Railway Bridge |
| Millennium Bridge | Southwark Bridge | Cannon Street Railway Bridge | London Bridge | Tower Bridge |
| See also: Crossings of the River Thames | Bridges of the United Kingdom |