Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower (French: La Tour Eiffel, [tuʁ ɛfɛl]) is an iron lattice tower located
on the Champ de Mars in Paris. It was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose
company designed and built the tower. Erected in 1889 as the entrance arch to
the 1889 World's
Fair, it has become both a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the
world.[1] The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid
monument in the world; 6.98 million people ascended it in 2011.[2] The tower received its 250
millionth visitor in 2010.[2]
The tower is 324 metres
(1,063 ft) tall,[2] about the same height as an
81-storey building. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to
assume the title of the tallest human-made structure in the world, a title it
held for 41 years, until the Chrysler Building in New York City was built in 1930.
Because of the addition of the antenna atop the Eiffel Tower in 1957, it is now
taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres (17 ft). Not including broadcast antennae, it is
the second-tallest structure in France, after the Millau Viaduct.
The tower has three
levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second. The third level
observatory's upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground,[2] the highest accessible to
the public in the European Union.
Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift (elevator) to the first and second levels. The climb
from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the
first to the second level. Although there are stairs to the third and highest
level, these are usually closed to the public and it is generally only
accessible by lift.
The design of
the Eiffel Tower was originated by Maurice
Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, two
senior engineers who worked for the Compagnie des
Etablissements Eiffel, after discussion about a suitable centrepiece
for the proposed 1889
Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair which
would celebrate the centennial of the French Revolution. In
May 1884 Koechlin, working at home, made an outline drawing of their scheme,
described by him as "a great pylon,
consisting of four lattice girdersstanding
apart at the base and coming together at the top, joined together by metal
trusses at regular intervals".[3] Initially Eiffel himself showed
little enthusiasm, but he did sanction further study of the project, and the
two engineers then asked Stephen Sauvestre, the
head of company's architectural department, to contribute to the design.
Sauvestre added decorative arches to the base, a glass pavilion to the first
level, and other embellishments. This enhanced version gained Eiffel's support:
he bought the rights to the patent on the design which Koechlin, Nougier, and
Sauvestre had taken out, and the design was exhibited at the Exhibition of
Decorative Arts in the autumn of 1884 under the company name. On 30 March 1885
Eiffel presented a paper on the project to the Société
des Ingiénieurs Civils;
after discussing the technical problems and emphasising the practical uses of
the tower, he finished his talk by saying that the tower would symbolise
