The Angel of the North is a steel sculpture by Antony Gormley on a hill at Low Eighton in Gateshead, overlooking the A1, the A167 and the East Coast Main Line. Gateshead Council commissioned it. Ove Arup & Partners did the structural engineering and Hartlepool Steel Fabrications built it. Work began in 1994 and it was completed on February 15, 1998.
It is made of Cor-Ten weathering steel and stands 20 meters (66 feet) tall, with a wingspan of 54 meters and a weight of 208 tonnes. The figure is based on a cast of Gormley's body. Its wings are angled 3.5 degrees forward, and it has no internal skeleton: vertical external ribs carry wind loads to the foundations. It was designed to last over 100 years.
Visitors reach it by road with a car and coach park, or by footpath, and may touch it.
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