Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is one of the few monuments in the world
that can define an entire culture. Give
credit to the French for their progressive aesthetic tastes and skilled
engineers and architects! Originally
built as the main entrance arch for the World’s Fair in 1889, the tower has
survived the ultimate test of time and still stands as the premiere
example of architectural iron art.
History
The Eiffel Tower is named after its creator, Gustave Eiffel,
who designed it as the entrance arch for the World’s fair in 1889 celebrating
the centennial of the French Revolution.
It was built between 1887 and 1889, with the opening ceremony on March
31, 1889.
As an architectural achievement, the Eiffel Tower is the
quintessential example of early architectural iron works. The first such achievement to mix
engineering with art was at the Shropshire bridge over a century earlier in
1779. Since that time, the idea of
using pre-fabricated iron parts to form a greater whole had taken leaps and
bounds. The Eiffel Tower had 18,038
iron parts, most of which were repetitive elements with heavy
ornamentation. Holding it all together
was about 2.5 million rivets ’hot pressed’ in the old style or riveting. Considering that the tower has no floors and
only two platforms between the ground and the summit, the risk to the
construction workers was extremely high.
Despite this, Eiffel took great precautions by providing multiple
stagings that could be moved around, guardrails, and safety nets. Throughout the two years of construction
only one man died from falling (compare it to 11 deaths for the Golden Gate
Bridge almost 50 years later). The
installation of Otis Elevator lifts completed the tower’s functionality at the
time and allowed patrons to visit the top without serious hardship.
At the time of its construction, the Eiffel Tower was not
designed for its current 130-year existence.
In fact, Eiffel only managed to obtain a 20-year permit for his tower. Throughout the early years after the World’s
Fair, there was much debate as to what to do with the tower. Early radio experimenters managed to make
the first long-distance radio message from the top of it. However, expensive maintenance costs
including a new coat of paint every 7 years put a lot of pressure on the
city. In 1925, the famous con artist,
Victor Lustig, used this to his advantage when he conned a scrap metal company
to ’purchase’ the tower.
Despite the city’s financial problems at the time, the
Eiffel Tower was never dismantled and managed to survive long enough to see the
city reach new heights of prosperity.
In 1925, it was used as a large billboard for Citroen Automobile Company
to advertise in an attempt to recoup maintenance costs. By 1959, a permanent radio antenna was added
to the top, forever securing its place as both a functional element of the city
and its premiere tourist destination.
Description
Today, the Eiffel Tower still stands prominently in the
Paris skyline. As an older city that
has seen extensive development over the course of many centuries, there was
simply no room to build tall skyscrapers like North American cities in the
skyscraper era. At the top of the tower
you can glimpse the entire Parisian landscape at once, including a majestic
view down the Champs de Mars.
As previously mentioned, the tower receives a new coat of
paint every 7 years. It is currently
colored a shade of brown. Polling
stations at the foot of the tower allow visitors and local residents to vote on
the next color of paint.
Recent improvements for the millennium celebrations in Paris
include hundreds of flashing lights and several high-power arc lights that
dominate this, the City of Lights. At
night, visitors and residents enjoy daily light shows that illuminate the
entire structure in beautiful hues.
While the Eiffel Tower has spawned a number of copycats
throughout the world—most notably the Tokyo Tower—none can claim its rich
history or beautiful location amidst the master-planned public spaces of
Paris. No trip to this glorious French
city is complete without visiting the Eiffel Tower!
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