DAVID ADAMS takes a look back at where it all started for the Eiffel Tower…
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PICTURE: David Adams |
The Eiffel Tower – an icon of modern France – celebrates the 125th anniversary of its opening this month and in honor of that, we take a look at how it all began.
The tower – a symbol of France’s engineering prowess – was built as a showpiece for Paris which hosted the Exposition Universalle in 1889 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.
Built by Gustave Eiffel (or at least his company – it was his senior engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier who came up with the design), the 325 metre high tower took two years and two months to complete and was made of more than 18,000 separate pieces of wrought iron.
The tower was the world’s tallest structure until 1930 when it was surpassed by New York’s Chrysler Building.
Interestingly, it was initially expected it would be taken down after 20 years but its long-term future was secured thanks to Eiffel’s encouragement of its use for scientific experiments, such as the transmission of the first public radio programme in 1925.
Almost 250 million people have visited the tower since its opening with around almost seven million people seeing every year. The lifts, which started operating 20 days after the tower opened meaning visitors during the first few weeks had to climb the 1,710 stairs to the top, now travel a distance of 103,000 kilometres a year (equivalent to 2.5 times around the earth’s circumference).
Initially lit during the exposition by 10,000 gas street lamps, the tour is now lit by 350 high pressure sodium bulbs. Various different lighting schemes have been employed over the years to celebrate momentous events in France, such as its hosting of the Rugby World Cup in 2007 and France’s presidency of the European Union in 2008.
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