There are a few man-made structures that invoke an immediate mental image the moment their names are mentioned in any conversation. Take the Taj Mahal, for instance. You must be already picturing an ivory-white marble mausoleum. Or the Great Wall of China. That brings to mind an almost endless stretch of fortifications made of stone and brick. And then, there is the Eiffel Tower…
Constructed to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution, the Eiffel Tower also turned into a show of strength as it showcased France’s industrial prowess in the late 19th century. While it is easy to credit the tower to Gustave Eiffel, whose name the tower bears, the French civil engineer wasn’t actually directly involved in its design.
The designers
The design belonged to Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier, two engineers who worked with Compagnie des Etablissements Eiffel, the company that Gustave owned. They came up with their design as an entry for the competition that was to decide the centrepiece of the proposed Paris Exposition, or World’s Fair, of 1889.
While Gustave wasn’t enthusiastic about the initial design, he did approve further study into it. Koechlin and Nouguier approached the head of the company’s architectural department, Stephen Sauvestre. Sauvestre embellished the design adding decorative arches and a glass pavilion to the first level, among other details.
Wins the competition
The design now got Gustave’s backing as well and the company entered it into the competition to decide the main exhibit of the World’s Fair. Their design won and the construction of the wrought-iron tower eventually began in 1887. It wasn’t accepted unanimously and there were even protests and petitions in an attempt to stop it from being built by those who took offence at the idea of a huge structure towering over their beloved city. That didn’t happen though and after two years of construction, the Eiffel Tower was inaugurated on March 31, 1889.
Colossal structure
With 18,000 pieces constituting a combined weight of over 7,300 tonnes, more than 60 tonnes of paint was utilised to paint every inch of the structure. The completed Eiffel Tower came to be a symbol of modern architecture, right from the choice of the material used to the fact that it existed purely to demonstrate meaning, skill and creativity, with little real utility.
When the Tower was built, it was to be a temporary structure that was to be removed after 20 years. Gustave, however, believed that the Tower’s scientific uses could well protect it and help prolong its lifespan. Even when he made his presentation in 1886 to push the case for the construction of the Tower, he included the following as part of its purpose: “meteorological and astronomical observations, physics experiments, a strategic vantage point, an optical telegraph communications point, a beacon for electric lighting and wind studies.”
Wireless transmission
The Eiffel Tower turned out to be a towering hit during the World’s Fair and as time passed, no one wanted it to be brought down. The fact that it afforded scientific experimentation certainly helped, but its height and therefore employability as a wireless telegraph transmitter proved it to be indispensable.
It could be used in transmission and reception over 400 km for starters, and reached out across the Atlantic by 1913. It came in handy during World War I, allowing the French to intercept enemy messages and obtain crucial information. It still houses 120 antennas and is used to broadcast radio and television signals.
Standing at a height of 324 m (300 m without the antenna), the Eiffel Tower was the tallest man-made structure in the world from the time it was constructed, till it was overtaken in 1930. The Chrysler Building in New York held it for less than a year and the record changed hands a number of times in the decades that followed and is currently held by the Burj Khalifa (829.8 m) in Dubai.
Open to visitors on all days of the year, over 250 million people from around the world are said to have enjoyed the dazzling sight and the views that the Eiffel Tower has to offer. That number will only continue to rise – like the Eiffel Tower itself, which seems to rise into the sky when viewed from close quarters.
