#62070 Old and new engineering. The London Eye on the Southbank of the River Thames in London seen from Waterloo station at dusk. The present Waterloo opened in 1910 replacing a confusion of three separate stations all on much the same site. The London Eye stands 135 metres tall and carries 3.5 million visitors each year. Conceived and designed by David Marks & Julia Barfield, it took 7 years to design & build and involved products made by specialists in 5 countries. It was originally sponsored by British Airways, who ran it from 2000 until 2005, when it was known as the Millenium Wheel.