Torrespaña
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| Torrespaña | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Alternative names | El Pirulí |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Broadcast tower |
| Location | Madrid, Spain |
| Coordinates | 40°25′13″N 3°39′51″W / 40.420278°N 3.664167°W |
| Construction started | 17 February 1981 |
| Inaugurated | 7 June 1982 |
| Height | 232 m (761 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Elevators | 1 |
| Design and construction | |
| Owner | Retevisión |
| Main contractor | Dragados Agroman |
| Architect | Emilio Fernández Martínez de Velasco |
Torrespaña (literally "Spain Tower") is a 231 m (757.87 ft) steel-and-concrete television tower located in Madrid, Spain. National terrestrial television channels RTVE, Telecinco and Antena 3, as well as the autonomic channel Telemadrid, along with a few radio stations, broadcast from this tower.
The tower was built in 1982, conmemorating the FIFA World Cup celebrated in Spain that year. The building was administered by RTVE until the year 1989, when control over radio and television emissions in Spanish territory was given to Retevisión. It is not open for tourists.
The Torrespaña tower is generally known in Madrid as the "Pirulí", given the similarity between the tower and a particular type of lollipop of conical shape very popular in Spain in the eighties.
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It is located in a depression, next to the M30 highway. Most of central Madrid lies to the W and NW. According to Google Earth the terrain altitude at the site is 660 m (2,165.4 ft) whereas about 1 km (3,280.8 ft) to the NW it is about 700 m (2,296.6 ft) and rises to 720 m (2,362.2 ft) even further north. Add about 20–30 m (66–98 ft) height for the average building and the base of the tower is about 60 to 90 m (197 to 295 ft) below the rooftops in that area. While the top of the tower is directly visible from most rooftops of Madrid it is unclear why this site located in a depression was selected when a site located in higher terrain would have given it better visibility and coverage with reduced height from the base.
[edit] External links
Media related to Torrespaña at Wikimedia Commons
