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Origins and Construction of the Eiffel Tower. It was for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, the date that marked the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, that a great competition was launched in 1886. The first digging work started on the 26th January 1887. On the 31st March 1889, the Tower had been finished in record time – 2 years, 2 ...
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3 days ago · Eiffel Tower, wrought-iron structure in Paris that is among the most famous landmarks in the world. It is also a technological masterpiece in building-construction history. It was designed and built (1887–89) by Gustave Eiffel and named in his honor. Quick facts.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Designing and Building the Eiffel Tower
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In 1889, Paris hosted an Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) to mark the 100-year anniversary of the French Revolution. More than 100 artists submitted competing plans for a monument to be built on the Champ-de-Mars, located in central Paris, and serve as the exposition’s entrance. The commission was granted to Eiffel et Compagnie, a consulting and construction firm owned by the acclaimed bridge builder, architect and metals expert Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. While Eiffel himself often receives full credit for the monument that bears his name, it was one of his employees—a structural engineer named Maurice Koechlin—who came up with and fine-tuned the concept. Several years earlier, the pair had collaborated on the Statue of Liberty’s metal armature.
Did you know? The base pillars of the Eiffel Tower are oriented with the four points of the compass.
Eiffel reportedly rejected Koechlin’s original plan for the tower, instructing him to add more ornate flourishes. The final design called for more than 18,000 pieces of puddle iron, a type of wrought iron used in construction, and 2.5 million rivets. Several hundred workers spent two years assembling the framework of the iconic lattice tower, which at its inauguration in March 1889 stood nearly 1,000 feet high and was the tallest structure in the world—a distinction it held until the completion of New York City’s Chrysler Building in 1930. (In 1957, an antenna was added that increased the structure’s height by 65 feet, making it taller than the Chrysler Building but not the Empire State Building, which had surpassed its neighbor in 1931.) Initially, only the Eiffel Tower’s second-floor platform was open to the public; later, all three levels, two of which now feature restaurants, would be reachable by stairway or one of eight elevators.
Millions of visitors during and after the World’s Fair marveled at Paris’ newly erected architectural wonder. Not all of the city’s inhabitants were as enthusiastic, however: Many Parisians either feared it was structurally unsound or considered it an eyesore. The novelist Guy de Maupassant, for example, allegedly hated the tower so much that he often ate lunch in the restaurant at its base, the only vantage point from which he could completely avoid glimpsing its looming silhouette.
Originally intended as a temporary exhibit, the Eiffel Tower was almost torn down and scrapped in 1909. City officials opted to save it after recognizing its value as a radiotelegraph station. Several years later, during World War I, the Eiffel Tower intercepted enemy radio communications, relayed zeppelin alerts and was used to dispatch emergency troop reinforcements. It escaped destruction a second time during World War II: Hitler initially ordered the demolition of the city’s most cherished symbol, but the command was never carried out. Also during the German occupation of Paris, French resistance fighters famously cut the Eiffel Tower’s elevator cables so that the Nazis had to climb the stairs.
Over the years, the Eiffel Tower has been the site of numerous high-profile stunts, ceremonial events and even scientific experiments. In 1911, for instance, the German physicist Theodor Wulf used an electrometer to detect higher levels of radiation at its top than at its base, observing the effects of what are now called cosmic rays. The Eiffel Tower has also inspired more than 30 replicas and similar structures in various cities around the world.
History and culture. Wednesday 4 March 2020. Modified the 27/12/23. Where we answer 15 of the most popular and fascinating questions about the Eiffel Tower. Who built the Eiffel Tower? The Eiffel Tower was built from 1887 to 1889 by French engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company specialized in building metal frameworks and structures.
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- There’s a penthouse apartment at the top. Gustave Eiffel reserved the uppermost level of the tower for himself, where he hosted famous guests like Thomas Edison in a private apartment that he designed.
- Gustave Eiffel didn’t design the tower. While the tower is named for Eiffel, it was actually Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier — two engineers who worked for his company — who designed the structure.
- The Eiffel Tower was supposed to be torn down after 20 years. The tower was built with the intent of showing off France's industrial prowess during the World's Fair, but the plan was to tear it down after 20 years.
- The Eiffel Tower was almost destroyed during World War II. In August 1944, as the Nazis were losing control of occupied Paris, Adolf Hitler commanded his generals to level the city.
Its base is square, measuring 125 metres (410 ft) on each side. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest human-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930.
Nov 24, 2020 · Work on the 15 metre foundations began on 26 January 1887 and the Eiffel Tower was inaugurated on 31 March 1889 when Eiffel himself climbed the Tower’s 1,710 steps and planted the French flag at its peak.
