The Eiffel Tower
November 7th 2007 19:50
It's as French as the baguette, the beret or the bleu, blanc et rouge, the most famous monument in France and the most prominent landmark in Paris. What tourist hasn't photgraphed it from every angle and suffered endless queues to scale at least the first tier of its 1652 steps or to ride the elevator up one of those curving piliers? Whether you catch your first glimpse of it from the banks of Seine, the courtyard of the Palais de Chaillot or from Les Invalides and across Le Champs de Mars, it's breathtaking
The Eiffel tower was the brainchild of French Structural Engineer Gustave Eiffel. It was the prize-winning design in a competition to celebrate and showcase late nineteenth century state of the art Science and Engineering. Work began on the towere in 1887. Assisted by Engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Noubier, Architect Stephen Sauvestre and 300 steel workers, Gustave Eiffel put together the 18,038 pieces and 2,500,000 rivets of the 300 metre, 7000 ton structure. It was completed in 1889, the centenary of the French Revolution and was opened by Edward VII, Prince of Wales. It was then the tallest building in the world and was to remain so until 1930 when the Empire State Building was constructed.
While many contemporary Parisians hailed the new monument on the Champs de Mars as a marvel of modern technology, as many deplored it as an abomination. A petition circulated, with three hundred signatures, saying "writers, painters, sculptors, architects and lovers of the beauty of Paris, do protest with all our vigour and all our indignation in the name of French taste and endangered French Art and History against the monstrous Eiffel Tower."
The Eiffel Tower was almost dismantled in 1910, when it was felt that it had outlived its function as a showpiece of Science and engineering but by that time, it had become an essential link in the International Time Service. Since then it has served a number of purposes beyond the purely decorative; in 1918, it was put to use as an antenna for French radio and in 1957, for television.
Daredevils have tested their mettle on the Eiffel Tower. In 1923, journalist Pierre Lebuc rode his bicycle down its steps. In 1954 it was scaled by a mountaineer. In 1984 two Englishmen parachuted form its summit and in the 1990s Kiwi extreme sportsman, A.J. Hackett bungy jumped down its centre.
Propagandists have used it as a platform for their causes. During World War II, the Germans draped it with a banner declaring "Germany is victorious on all fronts!" In 1958, before Castro came to power, a group of Cubans hung their red and black revolutionary. In 1979, the Greenpeace rainbow flew, saying "Save the seals". And just a few weeks ago, a giant Rugby Ball sat at the centre of the Eiffel Tower to mark the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
The Eiffell Tower
The Eiffel tower was the brainchild of French Structural Engineer Gustave Eiffel. It was the prize-winning design in a competition to celebrate and showcase late nineteenth century state of the art Science and Engineering. Work began on the towere in 1887. Assisted by Engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Noubier, Architect Stephen Sauvestre and 300 steel workers, Gustave Eiffel put together the 18,038 pieces and 2,500,000 rivets of the 300 metre, 7000 ton structure. It was completed in 1889, the centenary of the French Revolution and was opened by Edward VII, Prince of Wales. It was then the tallest building in the world and was to remain so until 1930 when the Empire State Building was constructed.
The giant piliers
While many contemporary Parisians hailed the new monument on the Champs de Mars as a marvel of modern technology, as many deplored it as an abomination. A petition circulated, with three hundred signatures, saying "writers, painters, sculptors, architects and lovers of the beauty of Paris, do protest with all our vigour and all our indignation in the name of French taste and endangered French Art and History against the monstrous Eiffel Tower."
The Eiffel Tower from the park
The Eiffel Tower was almost dismantled in 1910, when it was felt that it had outlived its function as a showpiece of Science and engineering but by that time, it had become an essential link in the International Time Service. Since then it has served a number of purposes beyond the purely decorative; in 1918, it was put to use as an antenna for French radio and in 1957, for television.
The Eiffel tower and Champs de Mars
Daredevils have tested their mettle on the Eiffel Tower. In 1923, journalist Pierre Lebuc rode his bicycle down its steps. In 1954 it was scaled by a mountaineer. In 1984 two Englishmen parachuted form its summit and in the 1990s Kiwi extreme sportsman, A.J. Hackett bungy jumped down its centre.
Propagandists have used it as a platform for their causes. During World War II, the Germans draped it with a banner declaring "Germany is victorious on all fronts!" In 1958, before Castro came to power, a group of Cubans hung their red and black revolutionary. In 1979, the Greenpeace rainbow flew, saying "Save the seals". And just a few weeks ago, a giant Rugby Ball sat at the centre of the Eiffel Tower to mark the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
The Eiffel Tower with giant Rugby ball
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