Elizabeth Tower

The Elizabeth Tower is a famous clock tower that houses the Big Ben bell in London, England. It is incorrectly referred to as Big Ben or just Clock Tower.

History
The tower opened in 1859 as the housing place of the Big Ben bell. The new Houses of Parliament later opened in 1874 and extended onto the tower. The tower was then later made taller to a height of 96 metres in 1903. In 1916, during the German zeppelin raids of London in World War I, the backlight of the clock face was turned off, and the Big Ben bell was not allowed to chime. The same principles then later applied to the tower when the Blitz begun in World War II. The tower recieved unspecific damage due to bombing, but was later repaired. The tower then became a famous landmark in London, and one of the famous buildings in London. In 2012, it was named Elizabeth Tower to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The tower then had a name for the last 153 years of it's life.

Trivia

 * Elizabeth Tower is the tallest clock tower in the United Kingdom.
 * The clock face is not the largest in the United Kingdom. The clock faces of the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool is larger by 1.5 metres.
 * The tower was originally used as a prison before it was a clock tower.