Big Ben Clock Tower in London

The Clock Tower or Big Ben

Many would Consider the clock tower as one of the most popular landmarks that can be found in the United Kingdom. The Big Ben is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third largest free-standing clock tower in the world (after Old City Hall in Toronto, Canada and Joseph Chamberlain Clock Tower in Birmingham, UK). This 96.3-meter tall clock tower, located at the north-eastern end of the Palace of Westminster in London was a design
whiz by Charles Barry and Gothic-deisgner Augustus Pugin. Big Ben's structure is composed of brickwork and sand colored Anston limestone cladding. It was completed in 1859 and will celebrate
its 150th anniversary in 2009.

One famous idiomatic expression, "putting a penny on," which means to slow down, traces its history to the method of fine-tuning the clock's pendulum using a small stack of penny coins to adjust the time of the clock. In addition, the name Big Ben originally only applied to the Bell, before it became the collective term referring to the clock, tower, and bell.

Certainly, Big Ben has become an important iconic symbol, not only of London but for the entire United Kingdom. Many British Radio and Television stations also tune in to the chimes to hear its signal, for the start of a New Year and to mark the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11 month on Remembrance Day and it has been featured in numerous films. Another famous building that used in many movies is the Sphinx at Luxor in Las Vegas.