The Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel tower at sunrise, seen from the Place du Trocadero.
Information
Location	Paris, France
Status	Complete
Constructed	1887 – 1889
Use	Observation tower Radio broadcasting tower
Height
Antenna/Spire	324 metres (1,063 ft)
Roof	300.65 metres (986 ft)
Companies
Architect	Gustave Eiffel
Structural Engineer	Gustave Eiffel

The Eiffel Tower (French: Tour Eiffel, /tuʀ ɛfɛl/) is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. The tower has become a global icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world.

Introduction

The Parisian landmark is the tallest building in Paris and one of the most recognized structures in the worldThe Eiffel Tower as a World monument and is named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel. 6,719,200 people visited the tower in 2006A few statistics and more than 200,000,000 since its construction.Number of visitors since 1889 This makes the tower the most visited paid monument in the world.LeMonde.fr : Tour Eiffel et souvenirs de Paris Including the 24 m (79 ft) antenna, the structure is 325 m (1,063 ft) high (since 2000), which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building.

The Eiffel Tower as seen from the Champ-de-Mars

When the tower was completed in 1889 it replaced the Washington Monument as the world\'s tallest tower — a title it retained until 1930 when New York City\'s Chrysler Building (319 m â€” 1,047 ft tall) was completed.ThinkQuest article on the Eiffel Tower. The tower is now the fifth-tallest structure in France and the tallest structure in Paris, with the second-tallest being the Tour Montparnasse (210 m â€” 689 ft), although that will soon be surpassed by Tour AXA (225.11 m â€” 738.36 ft).

The structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tons. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7 in) because of thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun. The tower also sways 6-7 cm (2-3 in) in the wind.A few statistics

The first and second levels are accessible by stairways and lifts. A ticket booth at the south tower base sells tickets to use the stairs which begin at that location. At the first platform the stairs continue up from the east tower and the third level summit is only accessible by lift. Once you are on the first or second platform the stairs are open for anyone to ascend or descend regardless of whether you have purchased a lift ticket or stair ticket. The actual count of stairs includes 9 steps to the ticket booth at the base, 328 steps to the first level, 340 steps to the second level and 18 steps to the lift platform on the second level. When exiting the lift at the third level 15 more steps exist to ascend to the upper observation platform. The step count is printed periodically on the side of the stairs to give an indication of progress. The majority of the ascent allows for an unhindered view of the area directly beneath and around the tower except during brief stretches of the stairway that are enclosed.

Maintenance of the tower includes applying 50 to 60 tons of paint every seven years to protect it from rust. In order to maintain a uniform appearance to an observer on the ground, three separate tones of paint are used on the tower, with the darkest tone on the bottom, and the lightest at the top. On occasion the colour of the paint is changed — the tower is currently painted a shade of brownish-grey. Painting the Eiffel Tower On the first floor there are interactive consoles hosting a poll for the colour to use for a future session of painting. The co-architects of the Eiffel Tower are Emile Nouguier, Maurice Koechlin and Stephen Sauvestre.Conception and design of the Eiffel Tower

History

Eiffel Tower under construction in July 1888.

The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World\'s Fair, marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Eiffel originally planned to build it in Barcelona, for the Universal Exposition of 1888, but those responsible at the Barcelona city hall thought it was a strange construction, and expensive, which did not fit into the city. After the refusal of the Consistory of Barcelona, Eiffel submitted his draft to those responsible for the Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he would build a year later, in 1889. The tower was inaugurated on March 31, 1889, and opened on 6 May. Three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron (a very pure form of structural iron), using two and a half million rivets, in a structural design by Maurice Koechlin. The risk of accident was great, for unlike modern skyscrapers the tower is an open frame without any intermediate floors except the two platforms. Yet because Eiffel took safety precautions including use of movable stagings, guard-rails and screens, only one man died.

The tower was met with resistance from the public when it was built, with many calling it an eyesore. (Novelist Guy de Maupassant — who claimed to hate the tower — supposedly ate lunch at the Tower\'s restaurant every day. When asked why, he answered that it was the one place in Paris where you couldn\'t see the Tower.) Today, it is widely considered to be a striking piece of structural art.

One of the great Hollywood movie clichés is that the view from a Parisian window always includes the tower. In reality, since zoning restrictions limit the height of most buildings in Paris to 7 stories, only the very few taller buildings have a clear view of the tower.

Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years, meaning it would have had to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiration of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne, and it therefore became a victory statue of that battle.

Shape of the tower

Eiffel Tower from the base

At the time the tower was built many people were shocked by its daring shape. Eiffel was criticised for the design and accused of trying to create something artistic, or inartistic according to the viewer, without regard to engineering. Eiffel and his engineers, as renowned bridge builders however, understood the importance of wind forces and knew that if they were going to build the tallest structure in the world they had to be certain it would withstand the wind. In an interview reported in the newspaper Le Temps, Eiffel said:

The shape of the tower was therefore determined by mathematical calculation involving wind resistance. Several theories of this mathematical calculation have been proposed over the years, the most recent is a nonlinear integral differential equation based on counterbalancing the wind pressure on any point on the tower with the tension between the construction elements at that point. That shape is exponential.Cat.InistThe Virginia Engineer: Correct Theory Explaining The Eiffel Tower’s Design Revealed

The mass of the tower is inferior to the mass of air contained in a cylinder at the tower\'s dimensions : 10 100 tons vs 10 265 tons.

The 10 100 tons radiate on 4 pillars so that the weight per square centimeters on the ground would be that of a 2m tall lady weighting 80kg on a pair of high heels.

Installations

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the tower has been used for radio transmission. Until the 1950s, an occasionally modified set of antenna wires ran from the summit to anchors on the Avenue de Suffren and Champ de Mars. They were connected to long-wave transmitters in small bunkers; in 1909, a permanent underground radio centre was built near the south pillar and still exists today. On November 20, 1913 the Paris Observatory, using the Eiffel Tower as an antenna, exchanged sustained wireless signals with the United States Naval Observatory which used an antenna in Arlington, Virginia.

The object of the transmissions was to measure the difference in longitude between Paris and Washington, DC."Paris Time By Wireless," New York Times, November 22, 1913, pg 1.

The tower has two restaurants: Altitude 95, on the first floor (95 m, 311 ft, above sea level); and the Jules Verne, an expensive gastronomical restaurant on the second floor, with a private lift. This restaurant has one star in the Michelin Red Guide. In January 2007 a new multi-Michelin star chef Alain Ducasse was brought in to run Jules Verne.Paris France Guide: Paris Hotels, Food, Wine and Discounts - The Eiffel Tower Breaking News

The uppermost observation deck, with a height of 275 metres, is the highest area of an architectural structure in the European Union open for the public.

The passenger lifts from ground level to the first level are operated by cables and pulleys driven by massive water-powered pistons. As they ascend the inclined arc of the legs, the elevator cabins tilt slightly, but with a slight jolt, every few seconds in order to keep the floor nearly level. The elevator works are on display and open to the public in a small museum located in one of the four tower bases, and waiting queues are much shorter than those for the tower ascent.

Events

Lightning strikes the Eiffel Tower on 3 June 1902, at 9:20 P.M The Eiffel Tower served as an advertising space for Citroën from 1925 to 1934.

• On September 10, 1889 Thomas Edison visited the tower. He signed the guestbook with the following message—

• In 1902, the tower was struck by lightning (see photo at right). 100 m (330 ft) of the top had to be reconstructed and the damaged lights illuminating the tower had to be replaced.^{[citation needed]}
• Father Theodor Wulf in 1910 took observations of radiant energy radiating at the top and bottom of the tower, discovering at the top more than was expected, and thereby detecting what are today known as cosmic rays.^{[citation needed]}
• On February 4 1912 an Austrian tailor Franz Reichelt jumped from a height of 60 meters from the first deck of Eiffel tower using his home-made parachute. Reichelt fell to his death.
• In 1925, the con artist Victor Lustig twice "sold" the tower for scrap metal.
• In 1930, the tower lost the title of the world\'s tallest structure when the Chrysler Building was completed in New York City.
• From 1925 to 1934, illuminated signs for CitroĂ«n adorned three of the tower\'s four sides, making it the tallest advertising space in the world at the time.
• Upon the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940, the lift cables were cut by the French so that Adolf Hitler would have to climb the steps to the summit. The parts to repair them were allegedly impossible to obtain because of the war. In 1940 Nazi soldiers had to climb to the top to hoist the swastika, but the flag was so large it blew away just a few hours later, and it was replaced by a smaller one. When visiting Paris, Hitler chose to stay on the ground. It was said that Hitler conquered France, but did not conquer the Eiffel Tower. A Frenchman scaled the tower during the German occupation to hang the French flag. In August 1944, when the Allies were nearing Paris, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower along with the rest of the city. Von Choltitz disobeyed the order. The lifts of the Tower were working normally within hours of the Liberation of Paris.
• On January 3, 1956, a fire damaged the top of the tower.
• In 1957 the present radio antenna was added to the top.
• In the 1980s an old restaurant and its supporting iron scaffolding midway up the tower was dismantled; it was purchased and reconstructed on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana by entrepreneurs John Onorio and Daniel Bonnot, originally as the Tour Eiffel Restaurant, known more recently as the Red Room. The restaurant was re-assembled from 11,000 pieces that crossed the Atlantic in a 40-foot cargo container.
• In 1985\'s James Bond action/adventure film A View to a Kill, Sir Roger Moore as James Bond chases May Day played by actress Grace Jones at the Eiffel Tower. She parachuted from the tower. The video of the film\'s theme, performed by the group Duran Duran, also included several scenes of the band staged on the tower.
• On New Year\'s Eve 2000, the Eiffel Tower played host to Paris\' Millennium Celebration. Fireworks exploded from the whole length of the tower in a spectacular display.
• In 2000, flashing lights and four high-power searchlights were installed on the tower. Since then the light show has become a nightly event. The searchlights on top of the tower make it a beacon in Paris\' night sky.
• The tower received its 200,000,000th guest of all-time in 2002.The Eiffel Tower: Paris\' Grande Dame. france.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-24.SoirĂ©e rĂ©ussie le 28 novembre pour fĂŞter l\'annĂ©e du 200 millionième visiteur (French). Official Site (2002). Retrieved on 2007-07-24.
• At 19:20 on July 22, 2003, a fire occurred at the top of the tower in the broadcasting equipment room. The entire tower was evacuated; the fire was extinguished after 40 minutes, and there were no reports of injuries.
• Since 2004, the Eiffel Tower has hosted an ice skating rink on the first floor during the winter period. Skating is free in Paris.

The 72 names

Main article: The 72 names on the Eiffel Tower

Gustave Eiffel engraved on the tower seventy-two names of French scientists, engineers and other notable people. This engraving was painted over at the beginning of the twentieth century but restored in 1986-1987 by the Société Nouvelle d\'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, a company contracted to operate business related to the Tower. The Tower is owned by the city of Paris.

Image copyright claims

The Eiffel Tower During New Years Eve, 2006

Images of the tower have long been in the public domain; however, in 2003 SNTE (Société nouvelle d\'exploitation de la tour Eiffel) installed a new lighting display on the tower. The effect was to put any night-time image of the tower and its lighting display under copyright. As a result, it was no longer legal to publish contemporary photographs of the tower at night without permission in some countries.Statement that publishing pictures of the lighting requires a feeIn the United States, for example, 17 USC 120(a) explicitly permits the publication of photographs of copyrighted architecture in public spaces. In Germany this is known as Panoramafreiheit.

The imposition of copyright has been controversial. The Director of Documentation for SNTE, Stéphane Dieu, commented in January 2005, "It is really just a way to manage commercial use of the image, so that it isn\'t used in ways we don\'t approve." However, it also potentially has the effect of prohibiting tourist photographs of the tower at night from being publishedEiffel Tower: Repossessed as well as hindering non profit and semi-commercial publication of images of the tower.

In a recent decision, the Court of Cassation ruled that copyright could not be claimed over images including a copyrighted building if the photograph encompassed a larger area. This seems to indicate that SNTE cannot claim copyright on photographs of Paris incorporating the lit tower.

In jurisdictions, this claim of copyright is explicitly disallowed. In Irish copyright law, works "permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public" may be freely included in visual reproductions.[http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2000/en/act/pub/0028/sec0093.html#partii-chapvi-sec93 Irish Statute Books - Representation of certain artistic works on public display

In popular culture

Main article: Eiffel Tower in popular culture

As a global landmark, the Eiffel Tower is featured in media including films, video games, and television shows.

Lattice towers taller than Eiffel Tower

Architectural structures in France taller than Eiffel Tower

Similar towers and reproductions

Similar towers (not scale models)

In order of decreasing height:

• CN Tower, Toronto, Canada — At 553.33 m, the world\'s second tallest freestanding tower.
• Kiev TV Tower, Kiev, Ukraine — At 385 m, the world\'s tallest lattice tower, with no observation deck for visitors.
• Riga Radio and TV Tower, Riga, Latvia — 368.5 m concrete tower on three legs.
• Macau Tower, Macau SAR — 338 m, with observation deck at 237.62 m and with the highest bungee jump in the world at 233 m.
• Dragon Tower, Harbin — a 336 m high lattice tower at Harbin, China.
• Tokyo Tower, Tokyo, Japan — 9 m higher than the original (33 m if the TV antenn

  is included).

• Yerevan TV Tower, Yerevan, Armenia — 311.7 m high lattice tower built from 1974 to 1977.
• St. Petersburg TV Tower, St. Petersburg, Russia — 310 m lattice tower without observation deck.
• Star Tower, Cincinnati, Ohio — 291.4 m transmission tower, without observation deck.
• Qingdao TV Tower, China — 232 m TV tower with observation deck.
• Crystal Palace Transmitter, London, England — 222 m TV tower without observation deck, nicknamed London\'s Eiffel Tower^{[citation needed]}.
• Brasilia TV Tower, Brasilia, Brazil — 224 m lattice tower with an observation deck at a height of 75 m.
• Guangzhou TV Tower, Guangzhou, China — A 217 m high TV tower of lattice steel.
• Blosenbergturm, BeromĂĽnster, Switzerland — A 217 m high mast radiator used for broadcasting of DRS-1 on mediumwave frequency 531 kHz.
• Nagoya TV Tower, Nagoya, Japan — 180 m
• OdinstĂĄrnet, Odense, Denmark — A 177 meter high lattice tower, destroyed in 1944
• The Spire The Arts Centre (Melbourne), Melbourne Australia — built in 1996 at a height of 163 m and is illuminated with roughly 6,600 metres (21,653 feet) of optic fibre tubing, 150 m (492 feet) of neon tubing on the mast and 14,000 incandescent lamps on the spire\'s skirt. The metal webbing of the spire is also influenced by the billowing of a ballerina\'s tutu.
• Transmitter Ismaning, Ismaning, Germany — 163 m, a wooden radio tower in shape similar to Eiffel Tower (and nicknamed "Bavarian Eiffel Tower") was built in 1934. In 1983 this tower was demolished, because it was of bad structural state.
• Blackpool Tower, Blackpool, England — 158 m (519 ft); it is not quite a free-standing structure as it stands above the Tower Circus complex, where the four "legs" can be seen.
• Mesquite Tower, Mesquite, Texas — 155.3 m transmission tower, without observation deck.
• Croydon Transmitter — A 152 m transmission tower in London, without observation deck
• Radio Tower Berlin, Berlin, Germany — 150 m transmission tower with observation deck. Sometimes nicknamed as a copy of the Eiffel Tower, although the two structures are not too similar. The Radio Tower Berlin is the only observation tower whose feet are insulated from the ground.
• Sapporo TV Tower, Sapporo, Japan — 147 m.
• Gliwice Radio Tower, Gliwice, Poland — 118 m. This tower, which is built of wood without iron parts and is today world\'s tallest wooden structure, was nicknamed until 1945 "Silesian Eiffel Tower" by local population.
• AWA Tower, Sydney, Australia — 101 m, 46 m on top of a 55 m building, built in 1938-39.
• Beppu Tower, Beppu, Japan — 100 mhttp://www2.odn.ne.jp/yoko—tower/list1—e.htm
• Zendstation Zwollerkerspel — 90 m radio tower.
• Tour mĂ©tallique de Fourvière, Lyon, France — 85.7 m lattice tower built from 1892 to 1894. Used until 1953 as an observation tower, but is now a TV tower — closed to visitors.
• Torre del Reformador, Guatemala City, Guatemala — 75 m.
• Brookmans Park Transmitter — two 60.96 metre high lattice towers, insulated against ground
• Petřínská rozhledna, Prague, Czech Republic — 60 m, built in 1891.
• Bachtel Tower, Hinwil, Switzerland — 60 m, built in 1986.
• Wiesbaden Bismarck Tower, Wiesbaden, Germany — 50 m tall wooden lattice observation tower, built in 1910 and demolished in 1918.
• Watkin\'s Tower, Wembley Park, London, England — never completed, demolished in 1907.
• Joseph\'s Cross, Stollberg/Harz, Germany — 38 m observation tower in form of a double cross.
• Lemberg Tower, Lemberg Mountain, Germany — 33 m observation tower of lattice steel, built in 1899
• Gehrenberg Tower, Deggenhausertal, Germany — 30 m observation tower of lattice steel, built in 1903
• Salzgitter Bismarck Tower, Salzgitter, Germany — 17 m tall observation tower consisting of 5 metres tall stone basement and 12 metres tall lattice tower built in 1900.
• Tour du BelvĂ©dère — a small observation tower in Mulhouse, Alsace, France.
• Woodwards Building, Vancouver, Canada — A small reproduction on the roof of the building was topped by a signature neon "W". This building has been demolished, only a small section of the facade remains. It will be replaced by condos and some low-income housing.
• Hashawha Tower, Westminster, Maryland — This is a windmill that was donated to the Hashawha Bear Branch Nature Center. Standing at about 10 m (35 ft) tall, there are pegs on the side to climb up on, and there is a very small observation deck at the top.

Reproductions

In order of decreasing height:

• In front of the Paris Las Vegas hotel/casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Paradise, Nevada, near Las Vegas, Nevada — 165 m (540 ft, scale 1:2). 36°6′45″N, 115°10′20″W
• Tianducheng, Hangzhou, China ~108 m [1] [2] 30°23′6.72″N, 120°14′36.60″E
• Shenzhen, China — ~100 m (~328 ft, scale 1:3) 22°32′13.33″N, 113°58′9.51″E

Replica at Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio

• Kings Island Amusement Park, Mason, Ohio — ~100 m (~328 ft, scale 1:3) 39°20′36″N, 84°16′1″W
• Kings Dominion Amusement Park, Doswell, Virginia — 84 m (275 ft, scale 1:3.59)
• Slobozia, Romania — 54 m (177 ft)
• In Parizh, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Nagaybaksky District, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. Built by South Ural Cell Telephone company as a cellphone tower — 50 m (164 ft)
• Fayetteville, North Carolina — The Bordeaux Tower is about 45 m (150 ft) featuring an elevator that takes people to the top for a small view.
• Walt Disney World\'s Epcot theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Florida (at the France Pavilion in World Showcase) — 23  (76 ft, scale 1:10)Disney\'s official French Pavilion page - lists the Eiffel Tower as approximately 1/10th the height of the original.
• Paris, Texas — 20 m (65 ft)
• As a Meccano model, housed at the Technology Museum of Georgia (Atlanta, Georgia) — 11 m (36 t)Eiffel Tower
• On the roof of the catering company Rungis Express in Meckenheim and Satteldorf, Germany -(height unknown)
• Centerpiece of the Falcon City of Wonders — a planned new development project in Dubai. UAE, featuring seven modern wonders of the world (planned).:: Falconcity of Wonders (L.L.C) :: 25°5′43.8″N, 55°20′31.5″E (approximate coordinates)
• Mini-Europe, Brussels, a 12.96 m model (a proportion of 1:25 to the original).
• Model on the roof of the Rue De Paris cafe in Brisbane, Australia — (roughly 12 m tall)
• Model in indoor theme park in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
• In Austin, Texas there is a 7.5 m (25 ft) tall replica at the Dreyfus Antique Shop.
• Model in Paris, Tennessee — about 7.5 m (25 ft) tall.
• Paris, Michigan; approximately 3 m (10 ft) tall and in a park
• Golden Sands (Varna) sea resort, Bulgaria - A tower in comparsion 1:10 is built in the town as a tourist attraction.
• Kazakhstan, Aktau - model at the front of the office of "Oil Construction Company"

Broadcasting stations

FM-Radio

TV

Other structures carrying this name

• Eiffel Tower Co-op in Hackensack, New Jersey, USA[3]

See also

• World\'s tallest free standing structure on land
• List of tallest buildings and structures in Paris
• The 72 names on the Eiffel Tower

References

Further reading

• FrĂ©my, Dominique, Quid de la Tour Eiffel, Robert Lafont, Paris (1989) — out of print

Gallery

Northwest from the tower, across the River Seine, showing the Trocadéro gardens and the Palais de Chaillot. A pleasure boat cruises on the river.	From the highest platform.	The Eiffel Tower from below.	Eiffel Tower while France was bidding for the Olympic Games, summer 2005
The lace-like iron detailing	The Tower is made from 18,038 pieces of puddled iron.	Photo 417.jpg Eiffel tower on Bastille Day	right|The Eiffel Tower taken shortly after the end of World War II, in June of 1945
Eiffel tower at night

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Eiffel Tower

• Official website of the Eiffel Tower (French)
• English version (English)
• Eiffel Tower in the Structurae database
• Mechanical Engineering Magazine: Deconstructing Eiffel
• Reconstructing the Eiffel Tower in CATIA ,3DXML file to download and CG Images
• 3D render of the Eiffel Tower for use in Google Earth
• The first transmitters at Eiffel Tower

• Eiffel Tower is at coordinates 48°51′30″N 2°17′40″E / 48.8583, 2.2945 (Eiffel Tower)Coordinates: 48°51′30″N 2°17′40″E / 48.8583, 2.2945 (Eiffel Tower)

v â€˘ d â€˘ e Popular visitor attractions in Paris
Arc de Triomphe â€˘ Basilica of the SacrĂ© CĹ“ur â€˘ Cathedral of Notre Dame â€˘ Centre Georges Pompidou â€˘ Champs-ÉlysĂ©es â€˘ Conciergerie â€˘ Eiffel Tower â€˘ Grand Palais â€˘ Jardin du Luxembourg â€˘ Les Invalides â€˘ Louvre â€˘ MusĂ©e d\'Orsay â€˘ OpĂ©ra Garnier â€˘ Père Lachaise Cemetery

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia