Metropolitan Tower Construction Company

According to the Brent Council website, the Metropolitan Tower Construction Company was founded by Sir Edward Watkin, Chairman of the Metropolitan Railway Company. He was impressed by the Eiffel Tower and wished to construct something similar on land he owned in Wembley Park. In 1880 a design was chosen for a 1,200 feet high steel tower incorporating restaurants, theatres, dancing rooms and exhibition space. Work was begun in 1893 but ran into problems both with the construction and finances. Work was stopped when the tower was 155 feet high. The incomplete structure was surrounded by pleasure gardens including sports facilities, tea rooms, bandstands and a lake. The park was served by the new Wembley Park station which had opened in 1894. In 1899 the Tower Construction Company went into liquidation. Subsequently, the structure was neglected and by 1902 it was declared unsafe and closed to the public. It was then demolished, with the scrap steel exported abroad. Wembley Stadium now stands on the site.

See "The history of the Wembley Park area" on Brent Council website, http://www.brent.gov.uk/regeneration.nsf/Wembley/LBB-149 (accessed Jan 2010).