Famed engineer Gustave Eiffel designed this tower as the entrance arch to the 1889 World’s Fair. At 324m (986 ft) it was the tallest structure in the world for 41 years, until it was surpassed by the Chrysler Building. La Tour Eiffel commemorated the French Revolution and gave hope to the French Resistance in World War 2.
The Industrial Age demanded a technological tower as a center piece for the international exhibition. Many submissions were similar to Gustave’s, but his experience with bridge design assured that he could pull it off. Émile Nouguier, Maurice Koechlin and Stephen Sauvestre helped in the design. Historic ornamentation and classic proportions gave elegance to a never-before-seen design.
The wrought-iron feat has 18,000 pieces and was built with only one fatal accident. Metal dams keep water from the Seine away from the deep foundations. Angled iron beams and flat bars riveted together and braced, prefabricated and pieced together. Wind flows right through the members to prevent lateral forces.
The project cost $1.5 million and harshly criticized by Paris’ artists, including Alexandre Dumas. Eiffel funded 80% of the project himself, and got to reside at the top and collect revenue from visitors. Collecting over $1 million the first year alone, the project made him considerably wealthy. The Panama Canal row in following years disgraced Eiffel and put him in prison. Yet his lobbying efforts kept the tower from being dismantled in 1910.
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