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Sydney Harbor Bridge: People are freaking out about this stunning secret about the most beautiful bridge in the world<!-- wp:html --><div> <p class="author-section byline-plain">By Hannah Wilcox for Daily Mail Australia </p> <p class="byline-section"><span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-published"> <span class="article-timestamp-label">Published:</span> 09:01 EST, January 18, 2024 </span> | <span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-updated"> <span class="article-timestamp-label">Updated:</span> 5:47 PM EST, January 18, 2024 </span> </p> <p> <!-- ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/news/none/article/other/para_top.html --> <!-- CWV --><!--[if !IE]>>--> <!-- <!--[if IE]>--></p> <p> <!--[if !IE]>>--> <!--<!--[if IE]>--></p> <p> <!--[if !IE]>>--> <!--<!--[if gte IE 8]>>--> <!-- <!--[if IE 8]>--></p> <p> <!--[if IE 9]>--></p> <p> <!--[if IE]>--></p> <p> <!--[if !IE]> --> <!--</p> <p> <!-- SiteCatalyst code version: H.20.3. Copyright 1997-2009 Omniture, Inc. More info available at http://www.omniture.com --> </p> <p> <!-- End SiteCatalyst code version: H.20.3. --> <!--[if IE]>--></p> <p> <!--[if !IE]> --> <!--<!--[if IE]>--></p> <p> <!--[if !IE]> --> <!-- <!-- CWV --></p> <div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The most beautiful bridge in the world has a secret. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The four masts on Sydney’s Harbor Bridge actually serve no structural purpose; they only serve as decoration.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The two pairs of 89-meter-high towers, which stood on either side of the monument, were not part of the original design.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The granite blocks were added later to reassure the public that it would not fall.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">The four masts on the Harbor Bridge in Sydney actually have no structural purpose, but only serve as decoration</p> </div> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">The two pairs of 89-meter-high towers, which stood on either side of the monument, were not part of the original design. The granite blocks were added later to reassure the public that it would not fall. The Sydney Harbor Bridge is pictured in 1930 under construction </p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The pylons, designed by Scottish architect Thomas S. Tait, also provided greater visual balance and made it more aesthetically pleasing.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">However, they proved useful in subsequent years when the colonnades were modified to accommodate parapets and anti-aircraft guns during the Second World War. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">In the 1950s, the pylons infamously became home to a litter of white cats.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Grim white cats prowling along the steel beams hardly went unnoticed, and the fearless felines quickly became a tourist attraction. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The tower’s infrastructure was even modified to install a cattery on the roof before the owner and her beloved pets left the tower in the early 1970s. </p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">They not only made the bridge more aesthetically pleasing, but also proved practical during World War II and beyond </p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">In 1934, the southeast pylon was opened as a museum and tourist center, which still offers 360-degree views of the surrounding city and harbor. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Transport for NSW is now using the south-west mast to provide CCTV overlooking the bridge’s roads.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The two colonnades on the north side of the bridge contain ventilation chimneys, which extract fumes from the busy Sydney Harbor Tunnel.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">One also acts as a TfNSW operated maintenance shed, the other as a traffic management shed for tow trucks and safety vehicles. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The granite used to build the towering colonnades was quarried in the town of Moruya, four hours south of Sydney.</p> </div> <p> <!-- ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/news/none/article/other/inread_player.html --></p> <div class="column-content cleared"> <div class="shareArticles"> <h3 class="social-links-title">Share or comment on this article: Sydney Harbor Bridge: People are panicking about this stunning secret about the most beautiful bridge in the world</h3> </div> </div> </div><!-- /wp:html -->

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The most beautiful bridge in the world has a secret.

The four masts on Sydney’s Harbor Bridge actually serve no structural purpose; they only serve as decoration.

The two pairs of 89-meter-high towers, which stood on either side of the monument, were not part of the original design.

The granite blocks were added later to reassure the public that it would not fall.

The four masts on the Harbor Bridge in Sydney actually have no structural purpose, but only serve as decoration

The two pairs of 89-meter-high towers, which stood on either side of the monument, were not part of the original design. The granite blocks were added later to reassure the public that it would not fall. The Sydney Harbor Bridge is pictured in 1930 under construction

The pylons, designed by Scottish architect Thomas S. Tait, also provided greater visual balance and made it more aesthetically pleasing.

However, they proved useful in subsequent years when the colonnades were modified to accommodate parapets and anti-aircraft guns during the Second World War.

In the 1950s, the pylons infamously became home to a litter of white cats.

Grim white cats prowling along the steel beams hardly went unnoticed, and the fearless felines quickly became a tourist attraction.

The tower’s infrastructure was even modified to install a cattery on the roof before the owner and her beloved pets left the tower in the early 1970s.

They not only made the bridge more aesthetically pleasing, but also proved practical during World War II and beyond

In 1934, the southeast pylon was opened as a museum and tourist center, which still offers 360-degree views of the surrounding city and harbor.

Transport for NSW is now using the south-west mast to provide CCTV overlooking the bridge’s roads.

The two colonnades on the north side of the bridge contain ventilation chimneys, which extract fumes from the busy Sydney Harbor Tunnel.

One also acts as a TfNSW operated maintenance shed, the other as a traffic management shed for tow trucks and safety vehicles.

The granite used to build the towering colonnades was quarried in the town of Moruya, four hours south of Sydney.

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