John Bickerstaffe, a former mayor of Blackpool, was asked to become chairman of the new company, and its shares went on sale in July 1891.

Bickerstaffe, to avoid the potential collapse of the venture, bought any available shares until his original holding of £500 amounted to £20,000.

[4] Two Lancashire architects, James Maxwell and Charles Tuke, designed the tower and oversaw the laying of its foundation stone[5] on 29 September 1891.

[5] Heenan & Froude, then of Manchester, were appointed structural engineers, supplying and constructing both the tower, the electric lighting and the steel front pieces for the aquariums.

[3] At the summit of the tower there is a flagpole[10][11] where the height at the top measures 518 feet 9 inches (158.12 m) from the ground.

As a writer for the BBC noted: "In heavy winds the building will gently sway, what a magnificent Victorian engineering masterpiece.

[9][13] On 22 December 1894, Norwegian ship Abana was sailing from Liverpool to Savannah, Georgia, but was caught up in a storm, and mistook the recently built Blackpool Tower for a lighthouse.

[14] In 1940, during the Second World War, the crow's nest was removed to allow the structure to be used as a Royal Air Force radar station known as 'RAF Tower',[10] which proved unsuccessful.

[12] In October 2007, a laser beam installed on the Tower for the duration of the annual Illuminations was criticised by astronomer Sir Patrick Moore, presenter of television programme The Sky at Night, who said: "Light pollution is a huge problem.

The centre for Astrophysics at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston said the laser has added to a spiralling problem affecting astronomy.

[16] The tower has transmitters for local FM station Radio Wave 96.5 and some non-broadcast services.

[25] Above the stage is the inscription "Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear", from the poem Venus and Adonis by William Shakespeare.

The current resident organist is Phil Kelsall who has been playing the organ at the Tower since 1975, when he started in the circus.

Restoration took two years and cost £500,000, with many of the former designers and builders coming out of retirement to assist; the restaurant then became the Tower Lounge.

[32] Under the management of Leisure Parcs, and the direction of bandleader Greg Francis, the Blackpool Tower Big Band was reformed in 2001 after an absence of 25 years.

[33] Themed nights were also introduced along with the sixteen-piece orchestra, with resident singers including Tony Benedict, Lynn Kennedy, Robert Young and Mark Porter.

The circus ring can be lowered into a pool of water and holds 42,000 imperial gallons (190,000 L) at a depth of up to 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m),[37] which allows for Grand Finales with Dancing Fountains.

A live band (sometimes accompanied by Mooky the Clown) provides all the music for the show, often dynamically syncing with the performers' movements.

[39] The menagerie and aviary were regarded as one of the finest collections in the country, and included lions, tigers, and polar bears.

It featured a £3 million interactive play scheme, based on a notional lost city, covering over 2,500 square metres (27,000 sq ft).

[43] A new attraction "The Fifth Floor" which is a brand new multi-functional free family entertainment and events area opened in September 2019 as well as a VR roller coaster ride and a circus themed arcade.

The Tower Lounge Bar was a large pub with a capacity of 1,700, but staff usually limited occupancy to 1,400 for a more relaxed atmosphere.

It has been described by Aaron Edgar, the Blackpool Tower Operations manager, as "65 million years in the making".

[45] Visible through the glass floor of the Tower Eye on the promenade some 380 ft (120 m) below, is Blackpool's famous Comedy Carpet.

[46] In front of the tower, the Comedy Carpet by Gordon Young[47] is a celebration of the resort's long comedic history in the form of a visual pavement of jokes and catchphrases, embedded into the surface of the revamped promenade.

[18] In April 2002, the Tower maintenance team was featured in the BBC One programme Britain's Toughest Jobs.