Sydney Harbour Bridge: People are freaking out over this stunning secret about the world’s most beautiful bridge
The most beautiful bridge in the world has a secret.
The four masts on the Harbor Bridge in Sydney actually have no structural purpose, but only serve as decoration.
The two pairs of 89-meter-high towers, which stood on either side of the monument, were not part of the original design.
The granite blocks were added later to reassure the public that it would fall.
The four masts on the Harbor Bridge in Sydney actually have no structural purpose, but only serve as decoration
The two pairs of 89-meter-high towers, which stood on either side of the monument, were not part of the original design. The granite blocks were added later to reassure the public that it would fall. The Sydney Harbor Bridge is pictured under construction in 1930
The pylons, designed by Scottish architect Thomas S. Tait, also provided greater visual balance and made it more aesthetically pleasing.
However, they proved useful in subsequent years when the colonnades were modified to accommodate parapets and anti-aircraft guns during the Second World War.
In the 1950s, the pylons infamously became home to a litter of white cats.
Grim white cats prowling along the steel beams hardly went unnoticed, and the fearless felines quickly became a tourist attraction.
The tower’s infrastructure was even modified to install a cattery on the roof before the owner and her beloved pets left the tower in the early 1970s.
They not only made the bridge more aesthetically pleasing, but also proved practical during World War II and beyond
In 1934, the southeast pylon was opened as a museum and tourist center, which still offers 360-degree views of the surrounding city and harbor.
Transport for NSW is now using the south-west mast to provide CCTV overlooking the roads from the bridge.
The two colonnades on the north side of the bridge contain ventilation chimneys, which extract fumes from the busy Sydney Harbor Tunnel.
One also acts as a TfNSW operated maintenance shed, the other as a traffic management shed for tow trucks and safety vehicles.
The granite used to build the towering colonnades was quarried in the town of Moruya, four hours south of Sydney.