Eiffel Tower or the Lady of Iron - Essay Example

 Eiffel Tower Eiffel tower or the Lady of iron is the most famous national monument of France. La Tour Eiffel is situated on the Champ De Mars in Paris. The Tower was built in the year 1889, and soon it became one of the most famous structures of the world. The Eiffel Tower was built by a French structural engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. The tower is one of the Europe’s most visited and photographed structure. Originally, the purpose to build the Eiffel Tower was to provide an entrance Arch to the Exposition Universelle 1889 and also to commemorate a Century of the French Revolution. In 1909, it was decided to dismantle the tower however the process never took place because the tower was being used for Radio transmission. Construction: The government of France decided to hold a monument contest. It was intended that the best monument will be displayed in the World Fair of 1889. The design for the Eiffel Tower by Gustave was unanimously selected out of 700 monument designs received. The construction on the Tower began in 1887, at first Parisians did not like the Eiffel Tower and considered it to be an eye sore. Most of them wanted the Tower to be dismantled, however, when the construction was completed, the tower became a prominent French symbol. French structural Engineer Gustave received the assistance of two other engineers Emile Nouguier and Maurice Koechlin during the construction. The architect who assisted Gustave in the construction was Stephen Sauvestre. The Tower was constructed by three hundred workers who joined 18,038 pieces of pure structural iron known as the ‘puddled iron’. During the construction, 2.5 million rivets were used to join the pieces of puddled iron together. The Eiffel Tower has an open frame supported by two platforms, thus during its construction there was a danger of losing human lives. To minimize the danger level, Gustave ordered the use of movable staging, screens as well as guard-rails. Due to the precautionary measures taken during the entire period of construction, only one man lost his live. The construction of the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889 and the inauguration ceremony was held on 31st March 1889. The Tower was officially opened on 9th May 1889. In 1889, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in France. However, now the tallest structure in France is Millau Viaduct and Eiffel Tower is the second tallest structure. The Tower has three floors and has a height of 324 meters or 1,063 feet. The heights of the three floors are 57 m, 115 m and276 m respectively. Eiffel Tower was not loved by all Parisians and it received much criticism during the time of its opening. Many people referred to the Tower as an odious column of puddled iron and demanded that it should be dismantled. (LeBoutillier 2007) The extent of the criticism which the Eiffel Tower received is truly reflected in the following quote from a letter which appeared in the “Paris Universal Exposition: Civil engineering, Public Works, and Architecture” 1892: "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” The letter was signed by various prominent individuals including Jean- Louis-Ernest Meissonier and Alexandre Duas. Tower Design: The weight of the Eiffel Tower’s pig iron structure is approximately 7,300 tons while the entire metallic structure has a weight of about 10,000 tons. Despite its massive size the tower is light weight. Engineers believe that the tower has a weight less than the weight of the air surrounding it. Despite its low weight the tower is very strong and safe. It has an exponential shape, the lower part of the tower was specially designed to withstand and resist the wind. Eiffel Tower is a metallic structure thus it needs protection oxidative damage. Therefore, to prevent rusting the structure is painted every seven years. Approximately, 50 to 60 tons of paint is used. The lower parts of the Tower are painted light while the upper portions are painted dark. Due to climatic changes, the height of the Eiffel Tower undergoes a variation of 15 cm. Gustave Eiffel engraved the names of 72 notable people including French scientists on the Eiffel Tower. Before 1986, the Tower had an external floodlight system but now it has an illumination system which has been incorporated within its structure. This makes the Eiffel Tower glow magically at night. Originally, the elevators of the Eiffel Tower were operated by the combined efforts of two companies. However, the Fives-Lille elevators were installed by the year 1899. In the year 1986, modern computer controlled elevators were installed which are not only safe but are easy to operate as well. Some Important events: Thomas Edison visited the Eiffel Tower on 10th September 1889. His message on the guest book showed great appreciation for the efforts of Gustave Eiffel. Father Theoder Wulf in the year 1910 measured Radiant energy at different levels of the Eiffel tower. He found that the radiant energy at the top of the Tower was the highest, this discovery led to the detection of Cosmic rays. In 1957, the present radio antenna was attached at the top of the Tower. From the onset of the 20th century, Eiffel Tower has been involved in Radio transmission. Today, the major television and radio transmitter for the City of Paris is the Eiffel Tower. In 1930, Eiffel tower lost its status as the World’s tallest structure and the title was transferred to Chrysler Building in New York. Tourist Popularity: Since the Tower’s construction in 1889, it has received more than 200 million visitors. In the year 2006 alone, the Eiffel Tower received 6,719,200 visitors. Thus, the Tower is considered as the World’s most visited monument. There are two restaurants on the tower, Le 58 tour Eiffel and Le Jules Verne. Lee 58 tour Eiffel is on the first floor of the tower while Le Jules Verne is on the second floor (Pezzi, Bryan.2008). Bibliography: LeBoutillier, Nate. Eiffel Tower. Mankato, Minn: Creative Education, 2007. Print. Pezzi, Bryan. Eiffel Tower. New York: Weigl Publishers, 2008. Print. William Watson’s U.S. Government Printing Office publication“Paris Universal Exposition: Civil engineering, Public Works, and Architecture” 1892. Read More