Chronological approach
Conceived in 1884, built between 1887 and 1889 and inaugurated for the 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris, the Eiffel Tower today symbolizes an entire country. However, this was not always the case, and in its origins it was just another element of the image with which France wanted to show the world the economic strength of the country.[64].
Since 1875, the nascent Third Republic, which was characterized by its chronic political instability, could barely sustain itself. In the government, political parties followed one another at a constant pace. According to Léon Gambetta (prime minister between 1881 and 1882), the cabinets were often made up of "opportunist" ministers, but whose legislative work laid the foundations for the principles still in force today: compulsory schooling, secularism, freedom of the press, etc.
The society of the time places great attention on technical progress and social progress. It is this faith in the benefits of science that gave rise to the world's fairs. But from the first exhibition (Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, London, 1851), rulers quickly perceived that behind the technological commitment an effective political showcase was emerging, and it would be a mistake not to take advantage of the opportunity. By demonstrating its industrial prowess, the host country can show off its advancement and superiority over the other European powers that reigned in the world at the time.
Under this vision, France repeatedly hosted the Universal Exhibition, in the years 1855, 1867 and 1878. Jules Ferry, president of the Council from 1883 to 1885, decided to revive the idea of holding a universal exhibition in France. On November 8, 1884, he signed a decree that officially established the celebration of a Universal Exhibition in Paris from May 5 to October 31, 1889. The year chosen was not random, because it symbolizes the centenary of the French Revolution.
Paris is once again the "center of the world", although the situation is evolving rapidly, and it is on the other side of the Atlantic, within the young economic power of the United States, where the idea of a 300-meter tower will truly be born. Indeed, at the time of the Philadelphia World's Fair "Philadelphia World's Fair (1876)") in 1876, the American engineers Clark and Reeves imagined the project of a cylindrical pole nine meters in diameter supported by metal shrouds, anchored in a circular base 45 meters in diameter, with a total height of 300 meters.[65] Due to lack of credits, their project would never see the light of day, although in 1874 it would be published in United States (in Scientific American magazine),[66] and in France (in La Nature magazine).[67].
In the same situation, the French engineer Sébillot showed in the United States the idea of an iron "sun tower" that would illuminate Paris. To do this, he joined forces with the architect Jules Bourdais, who was working on the project for the Trocadero Palace for the Universal Exhibition of 1878. Together, they conceived a granite "lighthouse tower" project, 300 meters high that would have several versions, which would later compete with Gustave Eiffel's tower project, and which would ultimately never be built.[68].
A significant precedent for all these projects was the Latting Observatory, a pointed pyramid with an iron and wood structure 96 m high, built in New York on the occasion of the Industrial Exposition of All Nations of 1853. Access to the tower, which had steam-powered elevators, was free.
In June 1884, two engineers from the Eiffel company, Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, head of the projects office and head of the methods office respectively, studied the project of a 300-meter metal tower. They hope to make it the center of attention at the 1889 Exposition.
Exactly on June 6, Maurice Koechlin made the first sketch of the building. The drawing represents a tower 300 meters high, where the four curved faces are joined by platforms every 50 meters until reaching the summit. Gustave Eiffel says he is not interested in the project, although he grants the two designers authorization to continue with the study. Stephen Sauvestre, chief architect of the Eiffel company, is called in to collaborate on the project and completely redraws the building to give it another size: he adds a heavy masonry foot and connects the tower to the first floor through arches, reduces the number of platforms from five to two, and makes the design of the tower something similar to a lighthouse, among other changes.[69].
This new version of the project, embellished with decorative varnish, is presented again to Gustave Eiffel, who on this occasion is enthusiastic about the project; to such an extent that he deposited, on September 18, 1884, in his name and those of Koechlin and Nouguier, a patent for "a new arrangement that allows the construction of metal piles and towers with a height greater than 300 meters." Shortly afterwards he bought the rights from Koechlin and Nouguier, to obtain exclusive ownership of the future tower that, for now, bears his name.
The genius of Gustave Eiffel lies not so much in the conception of the monument, but in the energy he used to make his project known to the rulers, those responsible for the administration and the general public; and when he achieved it, in gathering the necessary investment to be able to build the tower, which in the eyes of everyone, continued to be a simple architectural and technical challenge or a purely aesthetic (or anti-aesthetic according to others) object. He also financed with his own funds some scientific experiments carried out on or from the Eiffel Tower, which allowed it to be perpetuated.
First, he tried to convince Édouard Lockroy, the Minister of Industry and Commerce at the time, to launch a competition to "explore the possibility of raising an iron tower with a base of 125 m² and a height of 300 meters on the Champ de Mars (Paris)". The modalities of this contest, held in May 1886, are so similar to the project defended by Gustave Eiffel that one could almost believe that it was written by his own hand. Of course, Eiffel did not do it, but it is evident that his project had a great chance of being chosen to appear in the World's Fair that would take place three years later. It still has to demonstrate that it is not a merely ornamental object, but that it can fulfill other functions. By foregrounding scientific interest in the tower, he undoubtedly scores some points in his favor.[14].
Eiffel does not know the result of the contest in advance. The competition becomes tough. 107 projects were presented, but finally Gustave Eiffel won the competition, which allowed him to build his tower for the 1889 World's Fair, as did Jules Bourdais, who would do the same with the Trocadero Palace (where he preferred to use granite instead of iron).
Two problems immediately arise: the elevator system does not satisfy the selection board, which forced Eiffel to change suppliers; and the location of the monument. Initially, it was considered to place the building right next to the Seine or next to the Old Trocadero Palace (now Palais de Chaillot), but it was finally decided to place it right on the Champ de Mars "Campus de Mars (Paris)"), site of the Exhibition, and make the tower a kind of monumental gate.
The location and manner of construction and operation will be subject to an agreement signed on January 8, 1887 between Édouard Lockroy, Minister of Commerce, acting on behalf of the French State, Eugène Poubelle, prefect of the Seine, acting on behalf of the city of Paris, and Gustave Eiffel, acting on his own behalf and not that of his company.[70] This official document specifies the estimated cost of construction, which will be 6.5 million francs paid at that time, in addition to contributing up to 1.5 million francs for unforeseen expenses (article 7); The rest will be paid by a public limited company created by Gustave Eiffel and financed by himself and a consortium of three banks, whose specific purpose will be the exploitation of the tower. The text also establishes a series of provisions, such as:
• - The price of tickets during the Universal Exhibition (article 7).
• - That 300 tickets per month (maximum) will be free.
• - That on each floor a special room must be reserved for carrying out scientific or military experiments.
• - That it will be available free of charge to the people designated by the Commissioner General (article 8).
Finally, article 11 stipulates that:
Project technical documentation:
The project required the definition of 18,038 metal parts and the creation of 5,300 workshop designs with their corresponding plans, in which 50 engineers and 150 workers took part in the Levallois-Perret factory.[71][72].
Numerous technical plans of the Eiffel Tower were published in the work La Tour de 300 mètres (The 300 Meter Tower) (Paris: Lemercier, 1900 - 2 vol. T I: Texte TII: Planches.), in which Gustave Eiffel himself, ten years after the completion of the construction of the tower, made a synthesis of its main characteristics and the laborious steps necessary for it to finally be built.
• - Photographic sequence of the construction of the tower from July 1887 to March 1889.
• - Foundations.
• - Lattices.
• - Support of one of the pillars.
• - Detail of the upper lantern.
Initially, Gustave Eiffel (engineer and specialist in metal structures) had planned twelve months of work, although in reality it took twice as long. The construction phase began on January 28, 1887 and ended in March 1889, before the official opening of the World's Fair.
On site, the number of workers never exceeded 250. This was because much of the work was done upstream, in the factories of the Eiffel companies located in Levallois-Perret. Of the 2,500,000 rivets in the tower, only 1,050,846 were placed on site, 42% of the total.[6] The vast majority of the elements are assembled in the Levallois-Perret workshops, on the ground, in five-meter pieces, with temporary bolts; and only later, in situ, are they definitively replaced by heat-set rivets (rivets).
The construction of the pieces and their assembly are not the result of chance. Fifty engineers made 5,300 drawings of the overall assembly or some details over two years, and each of the 18,038 pieces of iron had its own descriptive scheme. At the construction site, in the first instance, workers make the enormous concrete plinths that will support the four pillars of the building. This helps to reduce the pressure on the ground of all the pieces, which together exert a pressure of 4.5 kg/cm² at the level of the foundations.
The assembly of the metal parts themselves began on July 1, 1887. The men responsible for the assembly of this "giant Meccano" are called flyers and are directed by Jean Companion. The pieces are raised up to 30 meters high with the help of "Crane (machine)") pivot cranes fixed to the elevators. Between 30 and 45 meters high, 12 wooden scaffoldings are built. Once the height was over 45 meters, new scaffolding had to be built, adapting the 70-ton beams that were used for the first floor. Then followed the joining of these enormous beams with the four edges at the level of the first floor. This connection was carried out without a hitch on December 7, 1887 and made the temporary scaffolding unnecessary, replaced at first by the first platform (at 57 meters high), and then, from August 1888, by the second platform (at 115 meters).
In September 1888, while the work was already well advanced and the second floor had been built, the workers went on strike. They argue over work schedules (9 hours in winter and 12 hours in summer), as well as their salary, which they considered reduced taking into consideration the risks assumed. Gustave Eiffel argued that the risk was no different if one worked at 200 or 50 meters above sea level. Even though the workers were paid better than the average salary for workers in the sector, he granted them a salary increase, but refused to compensate them for the factor that "the risk varies according to height" (which was demanded by the workers). Three months later, a new strike will break out, but this time he will confront the workers and deny any negotiation.[73].
In March 1889, the monument is completed on time and no fatal accidents are recorded among the workers (however, one worker died, but it was on a Sunday, he was not working and lost his balance during a demonstration to his fiancée). The work cost 1.5 million francs more than expected, and took twice as long to build than what was initially planned in the contract signed in January 1887.[74]
The finished building was open to the public up to the third platform. The elevators of the Backmann company, which were initially planned in the project presented in the competition of May 1886, were rejected by the jury. Gustave Eiffel turned to three new suppliers: Roux-Combaluzier et Lepape (now Schindler) (ground floor to first floor, east and west face), the American company Otis (ground floor and second floor, north and south face) and an acquaintance of Eiffel, Léon Edoux (second floor to the top).
(The following sequence of photographs comes from gallica.bfn.fr "La tour de 300 mètres 1900").
• - Photographic sequence of the construction of the tower from July 1887 to March 1889.
• - July 18, 1887, beginning of pillar #4.
• - December 7, 1887, assembly on the frame posts.
• - March 20, 1888, assembly of the horizontal beams on the central scaffolding.
• - May 15, 1888, installation of the pillars above the first floor.
• - August 21, 1888, assembly of the second platform.
• - December 26, 1888, assembly of the upper part.
• - March 31, 1889, general view of the finished work.
The main structural work was completed at the end of March 1889, and on the same day, March 31, Eiffel celebrated by leading a group of government officials (accompanied by representatives of the press) to the top of the tower. Because the elevators were not yet in operation, the ascent was made on foot, and took more than an hour, with Eiffel stopping frequently to explain the various features of the structure. Most of the group stayed on the two lowest floors, but a few, including structural engineer Émile Nouguier (the director of the work), Jean Compagnon (president of the City Council), and reporters from Le Figaro and Le Monde Illustré, completed the ascent. At 2:35 in the afternoon, Eiffel raised a large tricolor flag accompanied by a salvo of 25 cannon shots from the first level.[76].
There was still much work to be done, especially on the elevators and facilities, and the tower was not opened to the public until nine days after the exhibition opened, on May 6. Even then, the elevators had not been completed. The tower was an instant hit with the public, and nearly 30,000 visitors came up to visit it.
As night fell, the tower was illuminated by hundreds of gas lamps, and a lighthouse sent out three beams of red, white and blue light. Two floodlights mounted on a circular track were used to illuminate other buildings at the event. The opening and closing of the exhibition was announced daily by a cannon located at the top of the tower.
On the second level, the French newspaper Le Figaro had an office and a printing press, where a special commemorative edition, Le Figaro de la Tour, was made. At the top, a post office was installed, from where visitors could send letters and postcards as a souvenir of their visit. Sheets of paper were also placed on the walls each day for visitors to record their impressions of the tower. Gustave Eiffel described some of the audience's entries as vraiment curieuse ("truly curious").[77]
On May 6, 1889, the Universal Exhibition opened its doors to the public, who could climb the Eiffel Tower starting on May 15. While it had been discredited during its construction, particularly in February 1887 by some of the most famous artists of the time, the Eiffel Tower acquired, during the Exhibition, immediate popular success, gaining the support of visitors. Since the first week, even though the elevators did not start working until May 26, 28,922 visitors climb the building on foot[78] and 1,710 of them even climbed the stairs to the top.[79].
Finally, of the 32 million tickets to the Exhibition, around two million tourists visit the tower. The monument, which was then the tallest in the world (and would be until 1930, when the Chrysler Building was built in New York), also attracted some well-known personalities and friends of Gustave Eiffel.[80].
Famous visitors to the tower during the Exposition include the Prince of Wales, actress Sarah Bernhardt, "Buffalo Bill" Cody (his Wild West demonstration was one of the attractions of the Exposition), and Thomas Edison. Eiffel invited Edison to his private apartment at the top of the tower, where Edison presented him with one of his phonographs, one of the new inventions that was one of the highlights of the exhibition. Edison signed the guest book with this dedication:.
The Eiffel Tower is not the only monument that attracts crowds: the immense Galerie des machines (Gallery of Machines, 440 meters long by 110 meters wide) by Ferdinand Dutert and Victor Contamin or the Dôme central (central dome) by Joseph Bouvard also attract the public. But the real novelty is the widespread use of electricity, which allows amazing plays of light for the time.
But once the Exhibition is over, curiosity quickly declines and with it the number of visitors. In 1899, only 149,580 tickets were recorded.[82] In order to relaunch the commercial exploitation of his tower, Gustave Eiffel lowered the price of entrance tickets, but this had no impact on sales.
We will have to wait for the Universal Exhibition of 1900 "Exposition Universelle de Paris (1900)"), once again held in Paris, for the number of curious people to increase again. On this occasion, more than a million tickets are sold, which is well above the figures of the previous ten years, but well below what is necessary for the maintenance of the tower. Indeed, not only are tickets twice as numerous as in 1889, but the decline in sales is more worrying considering the fact that visitors to the Universal Exposition of 1900 were more numerous than in 1889. For this event, the elevators on the east and west pillars were replaced by elevators that reached the second level, built by the French firm Fives-Lille. They were equipped with a compensation mechanism to maintain the ground level depending on the angle of ascent, and were driven by a hydraulic mechanism similar to that of the Otis elevators, although these were installed at the base of the tower. Hydraulic pressure was provided by pressurized accumulators located near this mechanism.[83] At the same time, the elevator in the north pillar was replaced by a staircase to the first level. The design of the first two levels was modified, providing the necessary space for visitors on the second level. The original elevator on the south pillar was removed 13 years later.
The drop in the number of entries has continued since 1901, so the future of the tower is not assured after December 31, 1909, the end of the stipulated concession. Some even support the idea that it could be demolished.[84].
At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, a receiver located in the tower intercepted enemy radio communications, which seriously hindered the German advance on Paris, contributing to the Allied victory in the First Battle of the Marne.
It was in 1925 when on two separate but related occasions, the fraudster Victor Lustig "sold" the tower's steel for scrap.[86] On May 2, 1929, the bust of Gustave Eiffel located on the north pillar, the work of Antoine Bourdelle, was inaugurated.[87] In 1930, the tower lost the title of the tallest structure in the world when the Chrysler Building in New York was completed.[15] In 1938, the existing decorative archway around the first level was removed.[88].
In April 1935, the tower was used for experimental television transmissions (still very low resolution), using a shortwave transmitter of 200 watts of power. On November 17, an improved 180-line transmitter was installed.[89].
The management company of the tower changes and the tower undergoes a major modification on the occasion of the Specialized Exhibition of 1937: the old-fashioned decorations on the first floor are removed and new lighting is installed.[90].
After the German occupation of Paris in 1940, the elevator cables were sabotaged by the French. The tower was closed to the public during the occupation and the elevators were not repaired until 1946.[91] In 1940, German soldiers climbed the tower to raise the swastika, but the flag was so large that it fell down just a few hours later, and was replaced by a smaller one.[92] During his visit to Paris, Hitler decided not to climb the tower.
Starting in 1942, the German army installed a powerful television station in the tower (called Fersenhender Paris), which, directed by Kurt Hinz, regularly broadcast several hours of programming a day.[93][94].
In August 1944, as the Allied Army approached Paris, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Choltitz, military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower along with the entire city. Von Choltitz disobeyed the order.[95] On June 25, before the Germans had been expelled from Paris, two employees of the National Museum of the French Navy replaced the Nazi flag with a tricolor flag, and were about to attack the three men led by Lucien Sarniguet, who had lowered the French flag on June 13, 1940, when Paris fell to the Germans. Germans.[91] The tower, which had managed to survive a fire caused by German troops, was used to communicate with troops, first by the Wehrmacht and then by the Allies during the Liberation of Paris.[96].
On January 3, 1956, a fire broke out at the television transmitter, damaging the top of the tower. The repairs lasted a year and in 1957, the current radio antenna was added to the top.[97] In 1964, the Eiffel Tower was officially declared a historical monument by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs led by André Malraux.[98] A year later, an additional lifting system was installed on the north pillar.[99].
Starting in 1960, international mass tourism began to grow, which had direct consequences on the number of visitors to the tower, which increased rapidly to reach 6 million visitors per year (limit exceeded in 1998), which required a renovation of the tower. Extending until 1985, the tower was remodeled focusing on three main features: the lightening of the building's structure; the total reconstruction of the elevators and stairs; and the creation of security measures adapted to the popular success of the tower. In this way, the Eiffel Tower will be relieved of 1,340 superfluous tons, it will be repainted and treated against corrosion, the elevators on the third platform will be replaced, the gourmet restaurant Le Jules Verne will be inaugurated and a lighting device consisting of 352 sodium vapor projectors will be installed.[100].
According to some interviews, in 1967, Jean Drapeau (mayor of Montreal) negotiated a secret agreement with Charles de Gaulle for the tower to be dismantled and temporarily relocated to Montreal to serve as a landmark and tourist attraction during Expo 67. The plan was supposedly vetoed by the company that operated the tower for fear that the French government might later deny permission for the monument to be restored to its original location.[101]
Starting in the 1970s, the Eiffel Tower gained more popularity and earned a place in the global collective spirit, in addition to becoming one of the best-known symbols of France.
In 1982, the original elevators between the second and third levels were replaced after 97 years in service. These had been closed to the public between November and March because the water in the hydraulic unit tended to freeze. The new cabins operate in pairs, each serving as a counterbalance to the other, and complete the trip in a single stage, reducing travel time from eight minutes to less than two minutes. At the same time, two new emergency staircases were installed, and the original spiral staircases were replaced. The Fives-Lille elevators on the east and west pillars, installed in 1899, were completely renovated in 1986. The cabins were replaced, and a computer system was installed to fully automate them. The water-based hydraulic system was replaced by a new electrically driven oil hydraulic system.[99] The south pillar service elevator was reserved three years later for carrying small loads and maintenance personnel.
On December 31, 1999, for the "Year 2000 Countdown" party, flashing lights and high-powered projectors were installed on the tower, accompanied by a large fireworks display. An exhibition next to the first floor cafeteria commemorates this event. Searchlights on the top of the tower formed a beacon in the Paris night sky, and 20,000 flickering lamps gave the tower a bright appearance for five minutes every hour.[102] The lights glowed blue for several nights to herald the new millennium. This lighting continued for 18 months until July 2001. The bright lights (designed to last 10 years without requiring maintenance) were turned on again on June 21, 2003.[37].
The tower received its 200,000,000th visitor on November 28, 2002,[103] becoming the fifth most visited monument in France. The tower has operated at its maximum capacity of approximately 7 million annual visitors since 2003.[104] In 2004, a removable ice skating rink was installed on the first level.[105] A glass floor was installed on the first level during the 2014 rehabilitation.[106]
On January 1, 2006, a new 10-year administration period began, with the concessionaire being the mixed economy company SETE (Society for the Exploitation of the Eiffel Tower), although 60% of the capital is held by the city of Paris.[107]