June 30, 1894: Tower Bridge Opens In London

June 30, 1894: Tower Bridge opens to traffic in London, its access ramp at the northeast corner of the Tower of London. Of course, this means foot, bicycle, horse-drawn wagon and horse-drawn carriage traffic. Not very many automobiles were on the streets of London at this point.

The bridge was constructed to give better access to the East End, which had expanded its commercial potential in the 19th century. The bridge was opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales, later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.

It should not be confused with London Bridge, the next bridge up the River Thames, 8/10ths of a mile to the west. Tower Bridge has become an icon, not just of London but of the United Kingdom itself, every bit as much as the Palace of Westminster, 3 miles up the Thames. It became the logo of Thames Television, the franchise holder of network ITV from 1968 to 1992. (In America, we would call it a network affiliate. Actually, Thames only broadcast from Monday morning to late Friday afternoon, at which point LWT, London Weekend Television, took over until the next Monday morning.)

June 30, 1894 was a Saturday. These National League games were played that day:

* The Brooklyn Bridegrooms lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10-6 at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Spiders, 5-3 at League Park in Cleveland.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Senators, 12-0 at League Park in Cincinnati.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Louisville Colonels, 13-6 at Eclipse Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Boston Beanaters, 10-9 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

* And the New York Giants and the Chicago Colts were rained out at West Side Park in Chicago. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on September 18. The Giants swept, 4-3 and 9-6.

The Brooklyn Bridegrooms became the Dodgers, the St. Louis Browns became the Cardinals, the Boston Beaneaters became the Braves, and the Chicago Colts became the Cubs. The Baltimore Orioles, the Cleveland Spiders, the Washington Senators and the Louisville Colonels were all contracted out of the NL after the 1899 seasons. But all except Louisville got teams in the American League in 1901, although that version of the Orioles failed. A new St. Louis Browns started in the AL in 1902, moving to Baltimore to become the current version of the Orioles in 1954.