Eiffel Tower

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(March 2011)

Eiffel Tower La Tour Eiffel

The Eiffel Tower as seen from the Champ de Mars Record height Tallest in the world from 1889 to 1930[I] General information Observation tower, Radio broadcasting tower Paris, France 48.8583N 2.2945E

Type

Location Coordinates 48.8583N 2.2945ECoordinates: Construction started 1887 Completed 1889 Opening 31 March 1889 Height Antenna spire 324.00 m (1,063 ft) Roof 300.65 m (986 ft) Top floor 273.00 m (896 ft) Technical details Floor count 3 Elevator count 9 Design and construction

Owner Management Main contractor Architect Structural engineer

City of Paris, France (100%) Socit d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE) Gustave Eiffel & Cie Stephen Sauvestre Maurice Koechlin, mile Nouguier References [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

View from the Trocadro The Eiffel Tower (French: La Tour Eiffel, [tu fl], nickname La dame de fer, the iron lady) is a wrought iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest building in Paris[10] and the most-visited paid monument in the world; millions of people ascend it every year. Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the tower was built as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair. The tower stands 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to assume the title of the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years, until the Chrysler Building in New York City was built in 1930. However, due to the addition, in 1957, of the antenna atop the Eiffel Tower, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building. Not including broadcast antennas, it is the second-tallest structure in France, after the Millau Viaduct. The tower has three levels for visitors. Tickets can be purchased to ascend, by stairs or lift, to the first and second levels. The walk from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. The third and highest level is accessible only by elevator. Both the first and second levels feature restaurants. The tower has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France, often in the establishing shot of films set in the city.

Eiffel Tower under construction in July 1888

Eiffel Tower Construction view: girders at the first storey

Contents
[hide] 1 History 1 . 1 T i m e l i n e o f e v e n t s 1 . 2 E n g r a v e d n a m e s 2 Design of the tower 2 . 1 M a t e

History

Panoramic view during ascension of the Eiffel Tower by the Lumire brothers, 1898

25 August 1944: American soldiers watch as the Tricolor flies from the Eiffel Tower again.

Franz Reichelt's preparations and fall from the Eiffel Tower.

Lightning strikes the Eiffel Tower on 3 June 1902, at 9:20 pm

Adolf Hitler with the Eiffel Tower in the background The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of wrought iron using two and a half million rivets, in a structural design by Maurice Koechlin. Eiffel was assisted in the design by engineers mile Nouguier and Maurice Koechlin and architect Stephen Sauvestre.[11] The risk of accident was great as, unlike modern skyscrapers, the tower is an open frame without any intermediate floors except the two platforms. However, because Eiffel took safety precautions, including the use of movable stagings, guard-rails and screens, only one man died. The tower was inaugurated on 31 March 1889, and opened on 6 May. The tower was much criticised by the public when it was built, with many calling it an eyesore. Newspapers of the day were filled with angry letters from the arts community of Paris. One is quoted extensively in William Watson's US Government Printing Office publication of 1892 Paris Universal Exposition: Civil Engineering, Public Works, and Architecture: "And during twenty years we shall see, stretching over the entire city, still thrilling with the genius of so many centuries, we shall see stretching out like a black blot the odious shadow of the odious column built up of riveted iron plates."[12] Signers of this letter included Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, Charles Gounod, Charles Garnier, Jean-Lon Grme, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and Alexandre Dumas. Novelist Guy de Maupassantwho claimed to hate the tower[13]supposedly ate lunch in the Tower's restaurant every day. When asked why, he answered that it was the one place in Paris where one could not see the structure. Today, the Tower is widely considered to be a striking piece of structural art. One of the great Hollywood movie clichs is that the view from a Parisian window always includes the tower. In reality, since zoning restrictions limit the height of most buildings in Paris to 7 stories, only a very few of the taller buildings have a clear view of the tower. Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years; it was to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiry of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne.

Timeline of events
10 September 1889 Thomas Edison visited the tower. He signed the guestbook with the following message To M Eiffel the Engineer the brave builder of so gigantic and original specimen of modern Engineering from one who has the greatest respect and admiration for all Engineers including the Great Engineer the Bon Dieu, Thomas Edison. 1910 Father Theodor Wulf measured radiant energy at the top and bottom of the tower, discovering at the top more than was expected, and thereby detecting what are today known as cosmic rays.[14] 4 February 1912

Austrian tailor Franz Reichelt died after jumping 60 metres from the first deck of Eiffel tower with his home-made parachute. 1914 A radio transmitter located in the tower jammed German radio communications during the leadup to the First Battle of the Marne. 1925 The con artist Victor Lustig "sold" the tower for scrap metal on two separate, but related occasions.[15] 1930 The tower lost the title of the world's tallest structure when the Chrysler Building was completed in New York City. 1925 to 1934 Illuminated signs for Citron adorned three of the tower's four sides, making it the tallest advertising space in the world at the time. 19401944 [citation needed] Upon the German occupation of Paris in 1940, the lift cables were cut by the French so that Adolf Hitler would have to climb the steps to the summit. The parts to repair them were allegedly impossible to obtain because of the war. In 1940 German soldiers had to climb to the top to hoist the swastika, but the flag was so large it blew away just a few hours later, and was replaced by a smaller one. When visiting Paris, Hitler chose to stay on the ground. It was said that Hitler conquered France, but did not conquer the Eiffel Tower. A Frenchman scaled the tower during the German occupation to hang the French flag. In August 1944, when the Allies were nearing Paris, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower along with the rest of the city. Von Choltitz disobeyed the order. Some say Hitler was later persuaded to keep the tower intact so it could later be used for communications. The lifts of the Tower were working normally within hours of the Liberation of Paris. 3 January 1956 A fire damaged the top of the tower. 1957 The present radio antenna was added to the top. 1980s A restaurant and its supporting iron scaffolding midway up the tower was dismantled; it was purchased and reconstructed on St. Charles Avenue and Josephine Street in the Garden District of New Orleans, Louisiana, by entrepreneurs John Onorio and Daniel Bonnot, originally as the Tour Eiffel Restaurant, later as the Red Room and now as the Cricket Club (owned by the New Orleans Culinary Institute). The restaurant was re-assembled from 11,000 pieces that crossed the Atlantic in a 40-foot (12 m) cargo container. 31 March 1984 Robert Moriarty flew a Beechcraft Bonanza through the arches of the tower.[16] 1987 A.J. Hackett made one of his first bungee jumps from the top of the Eiffel Tower, using a special cord he had helped develop. Hackett was arrested by the Paris police upon reaching the ground. [17] 27 October 1991 Thierry Devaux, along with mountain guide Herv Calvayrac, performed a series of acrobatic figures of bungee jump (not allowed) from the second floor of the Tower. Facing the Champ de Mars, Thierry Devaux was using an electric winch between each figure to go back up. When firemen arrived, he stopped after the sixth bungee jump.[18] New Year's Eve 1999 The Eiffel Tower played host to Paris' Millennium Celebration. On this occasion, flashing lights and four high-power searchlights were installed on the tower, and fireworks were set off all over it. An exhibition above a cafeteria on the first floor commemorates this event. Since then, the light show has become a nightly event. The searchlights on top of the tower make it a beacon in Paris' night sky, and the 20,000 flash bulbs give the tower a sparkly appearance every hour on the hour.[19] 28 November 2002 The tower received its 200,000,000th guest.[20][21] 2004 The Eiffel Tower began hosting an ice skating rink on the first floor each winter.[22]

Engraved names
Main article: The 72 names on the Eiffel Tower Gustave Eiffel engraved on the tower seventy-two names of French scientists, engineers and other notable people. This engraving was painted over at the beginning of the twentieth century but restored in 19861987 by the Socit Nouvelle d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, a company contracted to operate business related to the Tower.