Happy Birthday Eiffel Tower!
Photo Courtesy of Holland America Line
Wow I can't believe the Eiffel Tower was completed in Paris, France 126 years ago today! The Eiffel Tower has always been one of my
absolute favorite landmarks. Although I
have never had the opportunity to visit Paris yet, it is on my list, and one
day I will be there.
In honor of the Eiffel Tower's birthday I thought it would be fun to learn more about it's history. Here are two incredible articles that provided detailed information about the birth of the Eiffel Tower and how it has influenced and impacted the world over the last 126 years!
Photo Courtsey of Wikipedia
1. The Eiffel Tower was named
after the engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built
the tower.
2. It took 2
years, 2 months, and 5 days to complete the construction of the Eiffel Tower.
3. The height is
324 meters (1,063 feet) tall – which is about the same height of an 81-storey
building.
Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia
4. 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.
5. Because of
the addition of the aerial atop the Eiffel Tower in 1957, it is now taller than
the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres (17 ft).
6. The tower has
three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second. The third
level observatory's upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground the
highest accessible to the public.
Photo Courtsey of Wikipedia
7. Tickets can
be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift (elevator) to the first and second
levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is
the walk from the first to the second level.
8. The tower is
the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world;
6.98 million people ascended it in 2011.
The tower
received its 250 millionth visitor in 2010.
9. The Eiffel
Tower is married. In a commitment
ceremony in 2007, Erika Eiffel, an American woman, "married" the
Eiffel Tower.
10. Maintenance of the tower includes applying 50 to 60 tonnes (49 to 59 long tons; 55-66 short tons) of paint every seven years to protect it from rust.
Photo Courtesy of Business Insider
via MoonSoleil on Flickr
1. The Eiffel
Tower wasn't the brainchild of Gustav Eiffel. Instead, his senior engineers
Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier designed the building. Gustav Eiffel wasn't
overly interested in the project, but sent the engineers to the head of the
company’s architectural department, Stephen Sauvestre. With Sauvestre's edits,
Eiffel got behind the final plans and bought the rights to the patent.
2. The Eiffel
Tower in numbers. 300 workers, 18,038 pieces of wrought iron, 2.5 million
rivets, 10,000 tons, 984.25 feet high.
3. The tower
was built as a symbol of modern science. Or as Eiffel himself said, “not only
the art of the modern engineer, but also the century of Industry and Science in
which we are living.” At the time that the tower was being built, another
technology was also in its infancy — photography. As the tower was assembled,
many photographers captured series of photographs to show the tower’s
construction.
4. At the
time of its construction, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest building in the
world. It wasn't until 1930, when New York City’s Chrysler Building rose to
1,046 feet, that the tower lost that title.
5. The Eiffel
Tower's elevators weren't operational at first. On May 6, fairgoers were
allowed to enter the tower, but the 30,000 visitors had to climb 1,710 steps to
reach the top. The lifts finally entered service on May 26.
6. Parisians
originally hated the Eiffel Tower. Newspapers received angry letters that said
the tower didn't fit into the feel of the city and there was a team of artists
that rejected the plan from the get-go. One apocryphal story says that novelist
Guy de Maupassant said he hated the tower, but ate lunch at its restaurant
every day. When he was asked why, Maupassant replied that it was the only place
in Paris where he couldn't see it.
7. It changes
height by the season. Because it’s made with puddled (wrought) iron, the
tower’s metal expands when exposed to the summer sun, causing the structure to
rise by as much as 6.75 inches.
8. The Eiffel
Tower was only meant to stand for 20 years. But the French military and
government began using it for radio communication and later telecommunication.
When the permit expired in 1909, the City of Paris decided to keep it.
9. The Eiffel
Tower has stood up to quite a lot during its lifetime. It transmitted radio
signals during WWI and during WWII the elevator wires were cut so that the
Nazis could not use the tower (after Allied troops entered the city, the
elevators were fixed). It has even survived a fire on its top floor and over
250 million visitors from around the world climbing on it.
10. The tower
is not painted one uniform color. To counteract atmospheric perspective, the
tower is painted darker at the top and becomes gradually lighter toward the
bottom.
11. Every
seven years, 50 to 60 tons of paint are applied. The new layers are needed to
protect the tower from rust.
12. It’s not
just a tourist attraction. The Eiffel Tower has housed a newspaper office, a
post office, scientific laboratories, a theater, and the first level becomes an
ice rink every year.
13. It is the
most visited paid monument in the world. The tower attracts almost 7 million
visitors every year, 75% of them from other countries.
Photo Couretsy of Business Insider
via Bibliotheque Nationale de France
Have you been
to the Eiffel Tower? Or do you have
plans to go someday like I do? What was
your favorite fact about the Eiffel Tower?
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