The Eiffel Tower In the beginning n n

The Eiffel Tower

In the beginning… n n The tower was erected for the Paris Exposition of 1889; Exposition Universelle in French—the Paris World’s Fair. The Paris Exposition of 1889 was the Centennial of the French Revolution. The Constuction Period was from January 23 1887 to March 1889—two years, two months, 5 days. The tower was inaugurated on March 31, 1889.

Engineering n n n Base of the Tower is on 4 piers which hold names of the four cardinal points Each main support rests on blocks of masonry, masonry rests on beds of concrete Concrete beds cover 60 square meters In the center of each—iron bars (25 ft, 6 in long & 4 in thick) unite the masonry by clamps To ensure the Tower was level, Eiffel left room for hydraulic presses at the angles of each pier

History n n So many people visited the Tower in it’s 1 st year that all almost all construction costs were recovered w/ticket sales Tower was slated to only stand for 20 years, but after 20 years, it proved to be a valuable communication tool for radio broadcasting Tallest structure in the world at original construction When Paris fell to the Nazis in WW 2, French rebels cut the cables to the elevator so Hitler had to climb stairs

History, cont. Eiffel used open latticework of wrought iron to help the Tower hold up to wind gusts. n Wanted wind to blow through the Tower, not against it. n Even during strong winds, the Tower never sways more than 4. 5 inches. n

Tourism n To use the stairs to the 1 st & 2 nd floor it is 4, 00 Euro n To go all the way to the top in the elevator it is 12, 00 Euro—cheaper if we are in a group n The Tower opens at 9: 30 am, and the stairs close earlier than the elevator— last lift at 11 pm n To reach the top of the Tower (276 meters), visitors must take another elevator from the second floor.

Interesting Tidbits n Engineers of the project were: Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier. n Stephen Sauvestre was the architect. n Gustave Eiffel was the contractor. n Number of Iron Workers = 300 n Number of Workers Killed in Construction = 1 n Rivets = 2, 500, 000 n Iron Pieces = 18, 038

Interesting Tidbits, cont. n Height = 300. 51 meters (986 ft) n n n +/- 15 cm depending on temperature 1 st level = 57 m 2 nd level = 115 m 3 rd level = 276 m Height w/ antenna = 320. 755 m (1052 ft) n Weight = 7, 000 tons n 1000 tons removed during renovation in 1990 s n Base = 412 sq. ft (2. 5 acres) n Paint = 50 tons every 7 years n Paint color is actually Dark Brown n Use 3 different colors— dark to light

Tower under construction—April 1888

Tower under construction—July 1888

Tower under construction—December 1888

Completed—May 1889

Sources n Discover France! Website n n n http: //www. discoverfrance. net/France/Paris/Monuments-Paris/Eiffel. shtml The Eiffel Tower: A Classic of Engineering n The Science News-Letter, Vol. 18, No. 488. (aug. 16, 1930), pp. 107 -108. n http: //links. jstor. org/sici? sici=0096 -4018%2819300816%2918%3 A 488%3 C 107%ATETACO%3 E 2. 0. CO%3 B 2 -6 Other websites: n http: //www. tour-eiffel. fr/teiffel/uk/ n http: //www. corrosion-doctors. org/Landmarks/eiffel-history. htm