The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is the Symbol of Paris. It is affectionately called “The Iron Lady.”

Why was the Eiffel Tower built? Who was the genius behind it?

World’s Fair 1889 It was built for World’s Fair and to celebrate the centennial of the French Revolution. The tower officially opened May 5, 1889. “The Iron Lady” was the star attraction with 2 million visitors. It symbolizes ideals of ingenuity, progress, and beauty. It was the tallest structure in the world until 1930.

Gustave Eiffel Born December 15, 1832, in Dijon, France Died December 28, 1923, in Paris An engineer, Gustave Eiffel designed 100’s of lattice-like metal structures of all kinds and sizes: Bridges Viaducts Infrastructure of The Statue of Liberty, 1876 The Eiffel Tower, 1889, his crowning achievement

Oh là là! Quelle Grandeur! Took 2 years, 2 months, 5 days to build 5,300 blue prints 18,038 parts 2,500,000 rivets Weighs 10,000 tons Measures 324 meters high 50 engineers 125 workmen on site 100 iron workers 1665 steps Cost $1.5 million

The Iron Lady is Kept Beautiful! “We will most likely never realize the full importance of painting the Tower, that it is the essential element in the conservation of metal works and the more meticulous the paint job, the longer the Tower shall endure.” Gustave Eiffel Painted every 7 years to preserve the iron and steel structure. Takes 14 months to paint from top to bottom. Takes 60 tons of paint. 25 painters kept busy.

“The Iron Lady” Shines for All! Lampposts – Gas - Incandescent lamps—Neon—Sodium lamps—Electricity May, 1889 Lampposts were used to illuminate the tower. 1937 André Grasset created the largest chandelier in the world to hang under the first platform. 1985 352 thousand watt projectors equipped with sodium lamps lighted the tower from inside. 2000 2000 electric beams light the tower to celebrate the new millennium!

“THE GUARDIAN OF PARIS” 1914 “The tower radiotelegraphy center intercepts enemy messages. …[and] the infamous Mata Hari spy is caught.” 1927 “Lindbergh used the lighted tower to guide him to the end of his daring voyage.” 1940-45 World War II : All the elevator and electrical cables are cut to prevent the Occupational (German) forces from using the tower. 1889-2002 Tourist attraction: The tower is the most famous monument in the world with 6 million visitors a year.

Par un étudiant inconnu la fin! Par un étudiant inconnu

Works Cited http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Eiffel/info.html http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/home_nuit.html http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/documentation/dossiers/page/gustave eiffel.html http://www.artday.com/http://www.artday.com/ Blume, Eli, and Stein, Gail. French Two Years, New Edition, AMSCO School Publications, Inc., 1998. Pages 511-513. Magi, Giovanna. All Paris, Bonechi. 1990