Recently, I watched PBS-TV’s NOVA program on building the famous Eiffel Tower, which is a classic wrought-iron lattice tower in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889.
Eiffel Tower
The tower was constructed as the centerpiece of the 1889 World’s Fair, and to crown the centennial anniversary of the French Revolution. The tower received over five million visitors in 2022 and is the most visited monument in the world.
Today, the Eiffel Tower, which continues to serve an important role for television and radio broadcasts, is considered an architectural wonder and attracts more visitors than any other paid tourist attraction in the world. The tower is 330 meters (1,083 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-story building, and the tallest structure in Paris.
The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level’s upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground, the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. Eiffel even had an apartment built at the top.
Back then, nothing remotely like the Eiffel Tower had ever been built! It was twice as high as the dome of St. Peter’s in Rome or the Great Pyramid of Giza. The tower was erected in two years (1887–89), with a small labor force at a slight cost, and some resistance by the workers during harsh times. The foundation is an amazing engineering feat that took creative engineering resources to build.
Because of its unique shape, the piers required elevators to ascend on a curve; the glass-cage machines designed by the Otis Elevator Company of the United States became one of the principal features of the building, helping establish it as one of the world’s premier tourist attractions. Source: PBS-TV & Wikipedia.