British
Telecom Tower dominates the sky line and is one of Birmingham's
most well known landmarks. It used to be referred to as the Post Office
or GPO Tower and it is the tallest building in the city of Birmingham.
The
tower was completed in 1965 and became operational the following year.
It was officially opened on 5th October 1967 by the Lord Mayor of
Birmingham. The building was designed by the Ministry of Public
Buildings and has 26 storeys which consist of offices and technical
rooms.
British Telecom Tower is used as a
communication tower and is bristling with telecoms equipment. It is 152
metres tall ( 498 feet ) and used for long distance communications. The
tower supports are built over the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. The tower was repainted in 2003.
The
large structure alongside the tower used be the Brindley House
Telephone Exchange. Straddled over the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal it
has been decommissioned as an exchange and turned into apartments with
an extra floor being added.
There are hidden secrets to this complex. Evidence still remains near BT Tower and the old exchange building of the Anchor Exchange project of which many people in Birmingham will never have heard of.