The Eiffel Tower

Origins and Construction of the Eiffel Tower

It was at the 1889 Exposition Universelle, the date that marked the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, that a great competition was launched in the Journal Officiel. The wager was to "study the possibility of erecting an iron tower on the Champ-de-Mars with a square base, 125 metres across and 300 metres tall". Selected from among 107 projects, it was that of Gustave Eiffel, an entrepreneur, Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier, both engineers, and Stephen Sauvestre, an architect, that was accepted. The first digging work started on the 28th January 1887. On the 31st March 1889, the Tower had been finished in record time – 2 years, 2 months and 5 days – and was established as a veritable technical feat. The Design of the Eiffel Tower The construction The Construction Schedule A Few Figures Mr. Eiffel’s Blueprints The Design of the Eiffel Tower The Koechlin plan The plan to build a tower 300 metres high was conceived as part of preparations for the World's Fair of 1889. Emile Nouguier and Maurice Koechlin, the two chief engineers in Eiffel's company, had the idea for a very tall tower in June 1884. It was to be designed like a large pylon with four columns of lattice work girders, separated at the base and coming together at the top, and joined to each other by more metal girders at regular intervals. The company had by this time mastered perfectly the principle of building bridge supports. The tower project was a bold extension of this principle up to a height of 300 metres - equivalent to the symbolic figure of 1000 feet. On September 18 1884 Eiffel registered a patent "for a new configuration allowing the construction of metal supports and pylons capable of exceeding a height of 300 metres" In order to make the project more acceptable to public opinion, Nouguier and Koechlin commissioned the architect Stephen Sauvestre to work on the project's appearance.. Sauvestre proposed stonework pedestals to dress the legs, monumental arches to link the columns and the first level, large glass-walled halls on each level, a bulb-shaped design for the top and various other ornamental features to decorate the whole of the structure. In the end the project was simplified, but certain elements such as the large arches at the base were retained, which in part give it its very characteristic appearance. The curvature of the uprights is mathematically determined to offer the most efficient wind resistance possible. As Eiffel himself explains: "All the cutting force of the wind passes into the interior of the leading edge uprights. Lines drawn tangential to each upright with the point of each tangent at the same height, will always intersect at a second point, which is exactly the point through which passes the flow resultant from the action of the wind on that part of the tower support situated above the two points in question. Before coming together at the high pinnacle, the uprights appear to burst out of the ground, and in a way to be shaped by the action of the wind". The construction Factory at Levallois-Perret The assembly of the supports began on July 1, 1887 and was completed twenty-two months later. All the elements were prepared in Eiffel’s factory located at Levallois-Perret on the outskirts of Paris. Each of the 18,000 pieces used to construct the Tower were specifically designed and calculated, traced out to an accuracy of a tenth of a millimetre and then put together forming new pieces around five metres each. A team of constructors, who had worked on the great metal viaduct projects, were responsible for the 150 to 300 workers on site assembling this gigantic erector set. All the metal pieces of the tower are held together by rivets, a well-refined method of construction at the time the Tower was constructed. First the pieces were assembled in the factory using bolts, later to be replaced one by one with thermally assembled rivets, which contracted during cooling thus ensuring a very tight fit. A team of four men was needed for each rivet assembled: one to heat it up, another to hold it in place, a third to shape the head and a fourth to beat it with a sledgehammer. Only a third of the 2,500,000 rivets used in the construction of the Tower were inserted directly on site. The rivet workers The uprights rest on concrete foundations installed a few metres below ground-level on top of a layer of compacted gravel. Each corner edge rests on its own supporting block, applying to it a pressure of 3 to 4 kilograms per square centimetre, and each block is joined to the others by walls. On the Seine side of the construction, the builders used watertight metal caissons and injected compressed air, so that they were able to work below the level of the water. The tower was assembled using wooden scaffolding and small steam cranes mounted onto the tower itself. The assembly of the first level was achieved by the use of twelve temporary wooden scaffolds, 30 metres high, and four larger scaffolds of 40 metres each. A gigantic meccano set Construction of a pillar Fondations of the Eiffel Tower "Sand boxes" and hydraulic jacks - replaced after use by permanent wedges - allowed the metal girders to be positioned to an accuracy of one millimetre. On December 7, 1887, the joining of the major girders up to the first level was completed. The pieces were hauled up by steam cranes, which themselves climbed up the Tower as they went along using the runners to be used for the Tower's lifts. It only took five months to build the foundations and twenty-one to finish assembling the metal pieces of the Tower. Considering the rudimentary means available at that period, this could be considered record speed. The assembly of the Tower was a marvel of precision, as all chroniclers of the period agree. The construction work began in January 1887 and was finished on March 31, 1889. On the narrow platform at the top, Eiffel received his decoration from the Legion of Honour. Journalist Emile Goudeau describes the spectacle visiting the construction site at the beginning of 1889. The Eiffel Tower's workers "A thick cloud of tar and coal smoke seized the throat, and we were deafened by the din of metal screaming beneath the hammer. Over there they were still working on the bolts: workmen with their iron bludgeons, perched on a ledge just a few centimetres wide, took turns at striking the bolts (these in fact were the rivets). One could have taken them for blacksmiths contentedly beating out a rhythm on an anvil in some village forge, except that these smiths were not striking up and down vertically, but horizontally, and as with each blow came a shower of sparks, these black figures, appearing larger than life against the background of the open sky, looked as if they were reaping lightning bolts in the clouds." The Construction Schedule The construction work took 2 years, 2 months and 5 days. The first floor was finished on the 1st April 1888 The second floor was finished on the 14th August 1888. The assembly was completed once and for all, with the top, on the 31st March 1889. A Few Figures 18,038 metallic parts 5,300 workshop designs 50 engineers and designers 150 workers in the Levallois-Perret factory Between 150 and 300 workers on the construction site 2,500,000 rivets 7,300 tonnes of iron 60 tonnes of paint 2 years, 2 months and 5 days of construction 5 lifts. Mr. Eiffel’s Blueprints The following blueprints are copies of Gustave Eiffel’s originals, taken from the book La Tour de 300 mètres, Ed. Lemercier, Paris 1900 Click to enlarge boards Metallic skeleton, separators, bracings and bases Lifts - Reservoirs - Drainage Sections of rafters & wire-meshes Elevations, diagrams, location at the Exposition Upper section. Ensemble and details Set of blueprints for all the different floors Masonry for Pillar 3 (South) Lower rafters Inclination of one of the first 4 panels Gussets Foot Detail of the structure of the decorative beams Development of the ground floor at Pillar 1 (North) Detail of the top structure Vertical cross-section of the top Detail of the structure of the 2nd floor

The Eiffel Tower during the 1889 Exposition Universelle

The tenth Exposition Universelle was organised in Paris in 1889, from the 15th May to the 6th November, and it was for this occasion that the Eiffel Tower was built. Stretching over 95 hectares, the Exposition filled the Champ-de-Mars, the Trocadero Hill, and the banks up to the Invalides esplanade, and the Eiffel Tower was at the centre of everyone’s view. Immediate Success for the Tallest Tower in the World General view of the exhibition The 1889 Exposition Universelle received millions of visitors. Amongst them, 1,953,122 came to see the Eiffel Tower, in other words almost 12,000 a day! The Tower was met with immediate success. From the very first week, though the lifts were not yet in service (they would be from the 26th May), almost 30,000 visitors climbed the monument using the staircase, that is to say 1,710 steps to the top ! At the time, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest tower in the world and people from all countries went to the heart of the French Capital to admire this architectural masterpiece. The public hurried to experience not only the dizzy heights of the ascent, but above all an unprecedented view over Paris, since no one had yet seen the view from an aeroplane. The Eiffel Tower has attracted among its copious number of celebrity visitors the French actress Sarah Bernhardt, the Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII) and the Princess of Wales, George I of Greece, le Shah of Persia, Prince Baudouin and other, more unexpected guests such as one certain American: he had long hair, a broad hat and tan-coloured chaps. It was William F. Cody, known by the name of Buffalo Bill. On the 10th July, the President of the French Republic, Sadi Carnot, very satisfied with his visit, offered a sum of 200 Francs to the Eiffel Tower employees and a sum of 100 Francs to the Figaro printing staff ! Attractions and Celebrations Overlooking Paris Les amoureuses de la tour Eiffel Already festive, the Eiffel Tower lit up every evening with the light of hundreds of gas lamps protected by opal glass cases. A tricolour beacon, housed in the campanile, sent out three signals of blue, white, and red light over Paris (using two mobile projectors mounted on a circular rail at the top). Lastly,the opening and closing of the Exposition were announced every day by a cannon shot fired from the top under the direction of a certain Mr. Chobert, the "harquebusier" of Paris, in his capacity as "qualified associate and medal-holder at the Exposition Universelle". All sorts of boutiques (sale of souvenirs, photographers’ booths, binocular rental, refreshments) and restaurants opened up on the monument. On the first floor, four restaurants were put in, each built in a different style : The truest Muscovite-style Russian restaurant was one of the wonders of this floor The Anglo-American bar consisted of a large room with a bar in the middle following the British and American trend The French restaurant had a façade reminiscent of a gazebo with a green trellis on a white backdrop. Situated on the platform facing the Ecole Militaire (now free), it consisted of a group of suites and exhibition rooms in the style of Louis XV The Flemish restaurant. It would be transformed into a theatre after the 1889 Exposition, and would become "Dutch" in 1900, becoming a theatre once again after the 1900 Exposition. At the foot of the Eiffel tower On the second floor, Le Figaro set up a printing works and produced a special edition of the daily newspaper on-site every day. Visitors who bought the newspaper could get their name put in it to "certify" that they had climbed the Tower. The newspaper’s cover illustration showed the Barber of Seville sat astride the Eiffel Tower. An unusual attraction was proposed to the public : send your letters by balloon ! In its edition : " Imprimée dans la Tour Eiffel" ("Printed on the Eiffel Tower") on the 29th August, Le Figaro reported: "the Tower’s company is doing its utmost to increase the number of attractions in favour of its clientele. It has just decided to soon put up for sale, on all of the Tower’s floors, small balloons and cheap parachutes arranged in such a way that one can attach a letter to them. The sender’s address will be left blank. We wish the Tower’s parachutes the same success as its postcards! ". Indeed, the Eiffel Tower was to thank for the increasing popularity of the postcard in France, and it was at the request of visitors in 1889 that the Tower's administration put the renowned "Libonis" on sale, named after its famous engraver. The oldest postmark stamped on a postcard showing the Eiffel Tower is the 21st August 1889. It was in this festive excitement that the first in a long series of achievements was reached on the Tower. On the 9th September, a baker from the Landes climbed the 347 steps that lead up to the first floor on stilts ! Gustave Eiffel at the top Gustave Eiffel at the top At the top of the Eiffel Tower, while the public admired the panoramic views, Gustave Eiffel reserved an office for himself in which he received his guests. Notably he welcomed Thomas Edison there, who offered him his famous "spectacle" class M type Phonograph. The scene, reconstructed, can be seen at the top of the Tower today. It was also in this office that, on the 10th September during a lunch, he acknowledged the French composer Charles Gounod, sat at a neighbouring table. Gustave Eiffel asked if he would do him the honour of joining his guests. The lunch over, everyone went up to his apartment set up on the top floor for a coffee. The scene was held in good taste, Gounod having been one of signatories of the Artists’ Petition to protest against the erection of the Eiffel Tower ! Debate and Controversy Surrounding the Eiffel Tower Even before the end of its construction, the Tower was already at the heart of much debate. Enveloped in criticism from the biggest names in the world of Art and Literature, the Tower managed to stand its ground and achieve the success it deserved. 14th February 1887: the work had only just begun when along came the Artists’ Protest. 1889 Exposition Universelle Various pamphlets and articles were published throughout the year of 1886, le 14 février 1887, la protestation des Artistes. The "Protest against the Tower of Monsieur Eiffel", published in the newspaper Le Temps, is addressed to the World's Fair's director of works, Monsieur Alphand. It is signed by several big names from the world of literature and the arts : Charles Gounod, Guy de Maupassant, Alexandre Dumas junior, François Coppée, Leconte de Lisle, Sully Prudhomme, William Bouguereau, Ernest Meissonier, Victorien Sardou, Charles Garnier and others to whom posterity has been less kind. Other satirists pushed the violent diatribe even further, hurling insults like : "this truly tragic street lamp" (Léon Bloy), "this belfry skeleton" (Paul Verlaine), "this mast of iron gymnasium apparatus, incomplete, confused and deformed" (François Coppée), "this high and skinny pyramid of iron ladders, this giant ungainly skeleton upon a base that looks built to carry a colossal monument of Cyclops, but which just peters out into a ridiculous thin shape like a factory chimney" (Maupassant), "a half-built factory pipe, a carcass waiting to be fleshed out with freestone or brick, a funnel-shaped grill, a hole-riddled suppository" (Joris-Karl Huysmans).Once the Tower was finished the criticism burnt itself out in the presence of the completed masterpiece, and in the light of the enormous popular success with which it was greeted. It received two million visitors during the World's Fair of 1889. An extract from the "Protest against the Tower of Monsieur Eiffel". Charles Gounod ""We come, we writers, painters, sculptors, architects, lovers of the beauty of Paris which was until now intact, to protest with all our strength and all our indignation, in the name of the underestimated taste of the French, in the name of French art and history under threat, against the erection in the very heart of our capital, of the useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower which popular ill-feeling, so often an arbiter of good sense and justice, has already christened the Tower of Babel. (...) Is the City of Paris any longer to associate itself with the baroque and mercantile fancies of a builder of machines, thereby making itself irreparably ugly and bringing dishonour ? (...) To comprehend what we are arguing one only needs to imagine for a moment a tower of ridiculous vertiginous height dominating Paris,just like a gigantic black factory chimney, its barbarous mass overwhelming and humiliating all our monuments and belittling our works of architecture, which will just disappear before this stupefying folly. And for twenty years we shall see spreading across the whole city, a city shimmering with the genius of so many centuries, we shall see spreading like an ink stain, the odious shadow of this odious column of bolted metal. Charles Garnier Leconte de Lisle Alexandre Dumas Fils Gustave Eiffel’s Response Gustave Eiffel In an interview in the newspaper Le Temps of February 14 1887, Eiffel gave a reply to the artists' protest, neatly summing up his artistic doctrine. "For my part I believe that the Tower will possess its own beauty. Are we to believe that because one is an engineer, one is not preoccupied by beauty in one's constructions, or that one does not seek to create elegance as well as solidity and durability ? Is it not true that the very conditions which give strength also conform to the hidden rules of harmony ? (...) Now to what phenomenon did I have to give primary concern in designing the Tower ? It was wind resistance. Well then ! I hold that the curvature of the monument's four outer edges, which is as mathematical calculation dictated it should be (...) will give a great impression of strength and beauty, for it will reveal to the eyes of the observer the boldness of the design as a whole. Likewise the many empty spaces built into the very elements of construction will clearly display the constant concern not to submit any unnecessary surfaces to the violent action of hurricanes, which could threaten the stability of the edifice. Moreover there is an attraction in the colossal, and a singular delight to which ordinary theories of art are scarcely applicable". The Eiffel Tower Laboratory The Eiffel Tower was supposed to be destroyed only 20 years after its construction. To remedy the situation, Gustave Eiffel had the ingenious idea of crediting it with a scientific purpose – the Tower was saved ! The Tower’s Scientific Uses Experiments with falling bodies From the presentation of his project in 1886, Gustave Eiffel knew then that only the Tower’s scientific uses could protect it from its adversaries and prolong its lifespan. Initially, it was supposed to be destroyed after 20 years ! He therefore specified the Tower’s purpose: meteorological and astronomical observations, physics experiments, a strategic vantage point, an optical telegraph communications point, a beacon for electric lighting and wind studies. Gustave Eiffel stated, “It will be for everyone an observatory and a laboratory the likes of which has never before been available to science. It is the reason why, from day one, all of our scientists have encouraged me with their utmost sympathies. Indeed, from 1889, the Eiffel Tower was used as a laboratory of measurements and scientific experiments. Considerable scientific apparatus was installed (barometers, anemometers, lightning conductors etc.). Moreover, Gustave Eiffel set himself an office aside on the third floor to make astronomical and physiological observations. On the day after the Tower’s very inauguration, Gustave Eiffel installed a meteorology laboratory on the 3rd floor. He also had a passion for aerodynamics and carried out a series of observations on gravity (leading to the installation from 1903 to 1905 of gravity instruments). He imagined “an automatic system that would slide along the length of a cable stretched between the Tower’s 2nd floor and the ground.” He had a wind tunnel built at the foot of the Tower, and from the month of August 1909 to December 1911, he carried out five thousand trials. Additionally, Gustave Eiffel encouraged numerous scientific experiments on the Tower: Foucault’s Pendulum, the mercury pressure gauge, physiological studies and radio contact (1898). In the end, it was be the Tower's role as an enormous antenna that would save it from destruction. For more information Find out about the history of radio transmissions from the Eiffel Tower in this section THE EIFFEL TOWER AND THE HISTORY OF BROADCASTING The Names of the 72 Scientists Listed on the Borders of Each of the Four Sides of the Eiffel Tower These 72 scientists were engraved by Gustave Eiffel in homage to the men of science. Having disappeared during a painting campaign at the beginning of the century, they were restored in 1986 and 1987. Les 72 savants Face Trocadéro 1. Seguin (Mechanic) 2. Lalande (Astronomer) 3. Tresca (Engineer and Mechanic) 4. Poncelet (Geometer) 5. Bresse (Mathematician) 6. Lagrange (Geometer) 7. Belanger (Mathematician) 8. Cuvier (Naturalist) 9. Laplace (Astronomer and Mathematician) 10. Dulong (Physicist) 11. Chasles (Geometer) 12. Lavoisier (Chemist) 13. Ampere (Mathematician and Physicien) 14. Chevreul (Chemist) 15. Flachat (Engineer) 16. Navier (Mathematician) 17. Legendre (Geometer) 18. Chaptal (Agronomist and Chemist) Face Grenelle 19. Jamin (Physicist) 20. Gay-Lussac (Chemist) 21. Fizeau (Physicist) 22. Schneider (Industrial) 23. Le Chatelier (Engineer) 24. Berthier (Mineralogist) 25. Barral (Agronomist, Chemist, Physicist) 26. De Dion (Engineer) 27. Goüin (Engineer et Industrial) 28. Jousselin (Engineer) 29. Broca (Surgeon) 30. Becquerel (Physicist) 31. Coriolis (Mathematician) 32. Cail (Industrial) 33. Triger (Engineer) 34. Giffard (Engineer) 35. Perrier (Geographer et Mathematician) 36. Sturm (Mathematician) Face Ecole Militaire 37. Cauchy (Mathematician) 38. Belgrand (Engineer) 39. Regnault (Chemist et Physicist) 40. Fresnel (Physicist) 41. De Prony (Engineer) 42. Vicat (Engineer) 43. Ebelmen (Chemist) 44. Coulomb (Physicist) 45. Poinsot (Mathematician) 46. Foucault (Physicist) 47. Delaunay (Astronomer) 48. Morin (Mathematician et Physicist) 49. Haüy (Mineralogist) 50. Combes (Engineer et Metallurgist) 51. Thénard (Chemist) 52. Arago (Astronomer et Physicist) 53. Poisson (Mathematician) 54. Monge (Geometer) Face Paris 55. Petiet (Engineer) 56. Daguerre (Painter et Physicist) 57. Wurtz (Chemist) 58. Le Verrier (Astronomer) 59. Perdonnet (Engineer) 60. Delambre (Astronomer) 61. Malus (Physicist) 62. Breguet (Physicist et Manufacturer) 63. Polonceau (Engineer) 64. Dumas (Chemist) 65. Clapeyron (Engineer) 66. Borda (Mathematician) 67. Fourier (Mathematician) 68. Bichat (Anatomist et Physiologist) 69. Sauvage (Mechanic) 70. Pelouze (Chemist) 71. Carnot (Mathematician) 72. Lamé (Geometer) The Eiffel Tower and the History of Broadcasting Gustave Eiffel knew that the scientific uses of the Tower could prolong its lifespan. The Eiffel Tower was actually supposed to be dismantled after 20 years! That is why he allowed numerous scientific experiments to be carried out – meteorological and astronomical observations, physics, air resistance etc. He succeeded in saving his Tower by putting it forward as a monumental support antenna for wireless broadcasting. The First Wireless Telegraphic Contact Led By Eugène Ducretet On the 5th November 1898, Eugène Ducretet carried out the first wireless telegraphy trials between the Eiffel Tower and the Pantheon (a distance of 4 km). The transmitter was installed at the top of the Tower. In 1899, the waves crossed the Channel for the first time. Wireless Transmission Saves the Tower In 1903, Gustave Eiffel, fascinated by scientific experiments, was still searching for a way to save “his” Tower, whose concession from the City of Paris was to come to an end 6 years later. He suggested to Captain Gustave Ferrié, then responsible for studying the military applications of wireless transmission, that he use the Tower for his experiments. He financed this operation, which enabled transmission and reception over 400 km. The Department of Military Engineering authorised Captain Ferrié to install antennas on the Tower. He set himself up in a wooden shelter next to the Southern Pillar. In 1909, the underground military radiotelegraphy station was set up. The strategic interest in the Tower had been demonstrated and the City of Paris renewed Gustave Eiffel’s concession on the 1st January 1910. Experiment on Wireless Telegraphy In 1913, the Tower sent telegrams using electrical waves to as far as America and to ships making the crossing in a radius of 6,000 km. Wireless Transmission during the First World War In 1914, during the Battle of the Marne, the Tower’s radiotelegraphic station learnt that General Von Marwitz, Commander of the right wing of the German Army, was having administrative problems and as a result was halting his advance. This crucial information enabled the French command to organise a victorious counter-attack (the Taxis de la Marne). Thanks to the Eiffel Tower’s station, important enemy radio telegrams, sometimes concealed by a commercial appearance in neutral countries’ programmes, were deciphered. Spies were exposed, among them Mata Hari. The First Radio Programmes From 1921, at first as an experiment, a civilian transmitter broadcast music programmes, columns, and lastly the "Journal Parlé" (spoken news) from 1925, picked up by amateurs on simple crystal radio sets. Radio Tour-Eiffel was well-known to Parisians at the time. Experimental programmes were organised and performers were invited to them, such as Sacha Guitry and Yvonne Printemps. The Beginnings of Television In 1935, a television studio was set up on the rue de Grenelle and the Eiffel Tower transmitter began to operate. From 60 lines at the beginning of the installation, they then passed to a high definition of 180 lines. On the 2nd June 1953, thanks to the Eiffel Tower’s transmitter, television showed the whole of France the celebrations for the Queen of England’s coronation live. This was the beginning of Eurovision. The Tower Has Grown with Television’s Progress In 1957, live satellite dishes were installed, providing the three television channels’ programmes using 819 lines, along with the frequency modulation radio transmitter. The new antenna made the Eiffel Tower reach a height of 320.75 metres. In 2000, a new UHF (Ultra High Frequency) antenna led to another modification in the Tower’s height, which was now 324 m. In 2010, considerable work on the TDF equipment has been done to prepare for the complete changeover to digital television in Ile-de-France. Sparkling Moments in the History of the Eiffel Tower Throughout the course of its existence, the Eiffel Tower has been host to lighting effects of a festive nature. Through continual renewal of its sources of artificial illumination, the Tower has benefited from the latest innovations in lighting equipment from the very beginning – from gas to electricity, incandescent lamps to neon, passing from sodium to high-pressure, and most recently LEDs. 1889 : For the evening of the Tower’s inauguration, 10,000 gas street lamps accented the steeple and platforms. Two projectors on the Tower top lit up the other Parisian monuments below. These blue-white-red beacon lights were considered the most powerful in the world. 1900 : Electricity arrives. 3,200 lamps spotlight the framework and decorative arches of the Tower. 1907 : A giant clock six meters tall is installed on the second floor giving time in illuminated numbers. 1925-1936 : It was André Citroën who brought the first decorative lighting display to the Tower, composed of 250,000 colored lamps. As an ad campaign, the name Citroën sculpted in lights adorned three sides of the Tower, visible 30 kilometers away. 1933-1934 : A 15-meter clock in diameter (offered by Citroën) tells time with light-beam minute hands. 1937 : For the Art and Technique Exhibition, an enormous chandelier containing 10 kilometers of fluorescent tubes was installed on the first floor. Thirty naval spotlights point in air so as to wrap the Tower in white light, while the Tower’s lattice work takes on gold, blue and red reflects. 1958 : 1,290 spots are installed on the grounds of the Champ de Mars so as to light up the Tower from below. 1978 - Christmas : The Tower becomes a Christmas tree with the arrangement of 30,000 lamps installed on the monument. 1985 - New Year’s Eve : Inauguration of the new lighting system, the final phase of a comprehensive restoration program, initiated by the city of Paris in 1980. It was to become the permanent gold-toned lighting system still in place today. This golden light is comprised of 350 high pressure sodium bulbs. GOLDEN LIGHTING April, 5th 1997 : The 1,000 days to the new millennium countdown display is placed on the facade of the second floor facing Trocadero. 2000 - New Year’s Day : for the "Countdown to the Year 2000" and its unforgettable pyrotechnic event, the Tower unveils its 20,000 sparkling lights and displays a new beacon. The sparkling lights, always planned to be short-lived, were taken down on the 14th July 2001. June, 21th 2003 : The Eiffel Tower is once again covered in diamond-sparkling lights that are displayed every hour on the hour for five minutes, from dusk until 2 am (1 am in winter). January, 24th-29th 2004 : Celebration of Chinese New Year: the Eiffel Tower is dressed in red! For the Chinese New Year celebrations, a clever set of exterior projectors bathed Paris’ most famous monument in scarlet light. This began on Saturday 24th January at the end of a parade organised on the Champs-Elysées, during an illumination event in front of the French and Chinese Ministers for Culture and the Mayors of Paris and Peking. The display was left in place until the morning of the 29th January (5 days) and could be seen every evening from 5pm to 7.30am! This red lighting effect on the Eiffel Tower was produced in collaboration with EDF. May, 9th 2006 : The Tower Turns Blue for the 20th Anniversary of Europe Day From Septembre, 7th to october, 20th 2007 : Rugby is Honoured, for the occasion of the World Rugby Cup hosted by France, the Eiffel Tower adopted the colours of rugby  From the bottom to the second floor, the Tower was bathed in green light, to represent the pitch, with two vertical beams of light and a cross-bar for the goal. A giant ball with a span of 13 metres was suspended from the second floor, approximately 80 metres from the ground bearing the official logo very clearly lit up. Lastly, a giant 120 m2 screen was set up on the first floor facing the Seine to display the results of the matches. Visitors from all over the world and Parisians alike could also enjoy the sparkling lights and the beacon, which continued to function throughout the whole operation. June, 30th - December, 31st 2008 : The Eiffel Tower in European colours.  To celebrate France’s Presidency of the European Union (1st July – 31st December 2008), the Eiffel Tower, in cooperation with the Mayor of Paris, paid homage to Europe. Every evening at nightfall, the Tower was decked out in blue light, decorated with 12 yellow stars to represent the European flag. The sparkling lights continued to glitter for the first 5 minutes of every hour. October, 22nd – December, 31st 2009 : The Tower celebrates its 120th birthday by offering a light show every evening. 1889 Exposition Universelle Citroën Advert - 1925-1936 Citroën Clock - 1933 The year 2000 Sparkling Lights - 2003 Chinese New Year - 2004 Honouring Rugby - 2007 European Colours - 2008 The 120th Birthday of the Eiffel Tower - 2009 The Eiffel Tower’s Lifts Almost from the very opening of the Eiffel Tower for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, visitors could access the floors of the monument by taking the lifts. A veritable technical triumph for the time, as never before had the limits of such heights and loads been broken, the lifts offered hundreds of thousands of visitors the possibility to securely climb the Tower to embrace the whole of Paris. Perhaps today the lift seems an everyday facility, but at the time it was a real achievement. Two of the original lifts are still in service on the Eiffel Tower. Carefully preserved, this exceptional heritage still testifies to Gustave Eiffel’s visionary genius today. The elevators at the time of construction Between the ground floor and the second floor :The four pillars were equipped with one or two cabins. In June 1889, five hydraulic elevators went into operation. This initial elevator technology was further modernized a decade later by Gustave Eiffel for the Universal Exposition of 1900. Between the the second and third floor : An "Edoux" elevator was put into service, a hydraulic machine that was the only one of its type in the world, with jacks 80 meters long. (It was dismounted in 1983). North and South pillars : "Otis" elevators carried the visitors up and down until dismounted in 1910. East and West pillars : : "Roux-Combaluzier" elevators were in service until 1897.  The elevators today North pillar : A “Schneider” electric elevator was installed in 1965, modernized between the years 1994 and 1995 and then revised again in 1997. Its speed reducer was changed in 2004. South pillar :  An "Otis" electric elevator has been used exclusively by customers of the Jules Verne restaurant since 1983. Also in service, a 4-ton freight elevator built in 1989 was revised in 2003 and then in 2007. East and West pillars :  "Fives-Lille" hydraulic elevators were installed in 1899, modernized in 1986 and 1987, and revised in 1992, 1995 and 2005. In 2008, the major project of totally replacing the West pillar elevators began, with the intention of coming back to the original and simple functioning machines imagined by Gustave Eiffel in collaboration with the Fives-Lille company in 1899. The public has an opportunity to discover the historical elevator equipment in a guided visit during the yearly open house event celebrating European Heritage. Enter into a true Jules Verne universe, into the center of the Tower, where all those surprising machines are in action. Between the second and third floor :  the "Edoux" hydraulic elevator did not function in winter (the gel stopped the machinery from working) and was dismounted in 1983. The hydraulic pump that fed the machine with water is now on display on the first floor of the Tower. Two double-cabin electric elevators by Duolift-Otis were installed in 1983, replaced by new ones in 1994 and 1995, and then revised in 2007. The elevators are vital to the monument and subject to some harsh treatment. Their annual journeys combined are equal to two and half times around the world or more than 103,000 kilometers. The cabins, the electrical and computer systems, along with the historical machinery behind the elevators receive the greatest care and maintenance: renovation work, repairs, parts replaced and oiled. They are constantly checked by technicians, who start them up early in the morning before the public arrives and keep them under clos e surveillance whenever the Tower is open to the public. Eiffel Tower elevator operators handle the smooth flux of visitors. A Simple Yet Brilliant Mechanism!” The passenger cabin is carried by a cab attached to cables, and is kept level by a recovery system. Underground, a hydraulic system sets 2 pistons in motion, which generate level movements for a cab. The cab carries the cables that pull the cabin by a system of pulleys smoothly upwards along the 128 metres of its course between the ground and 2nd floor. Until 1986, the pistons were set in motion by a hydraulic system, powered by three large accumulators of around 200 tonnes each, which ensured both that the water was kept under pressure (40-60 bars), and the smooth operation of the counterweight mechanism. Since 1986, high-pressure oil hydraulic motors have taken over for driving the movement of the lift drive piston system, while two of the original three large accumulators serve only as a counterweight. Operating diagram of the 1899 machinerie  Begun in October 2008, the work on the western lift will be concluded in 2012. The same renovation will then be carried out on the eastern lift. It is a long process for the teams, which vary from 10 to 45 people, representing many building trades. A Unique Prototype Since 1899, these lifts have been a mechanism unrivalled by anywhere in the world. They are neither lifts in the traditional sense, nor a funicular system, nor cable-cars. They do not belong to any category and do not correspond to any current reference. This machinery from more than a century ago must therefore be adapted to today’s security criteria. Even if the principal mechanics of the lifts with their lift drive piston and system of pulleys are preserved, everything will change! They will have to replace the cab, the cab platform, the rail mounting of the platform, the hydraulic system, and the electric ropes. Why this Modernisation of the Original Lifts ? Quite apart from a necessary compliance with current regulations, the objective of the modernisation is to improve performance of this historical equipment and to optimise their maintenance conditions. Technology Dedicated to Durable Development As the Tower’s modernity must go hand in hand with longevity and durability, the SETE (Société d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel), or Tower Operating Company, favoured a solution to respect its heritage. It will enable the return to the principle of water hydraulics that the engineers had initially designed in 1899, at the same time reinforcing the introduction of the automatic system. Respecting its policy of durable development, and in order to contribute to limiting the monument’s carbon footprint, the SETE has held to a principle of renovation that presents several advantages: A more ecological system : the hydraulic system will be fuelled by an eco-friendly fluid, and will significantly reduce the quantities of water consumed during the cooling process. A less greedy system : with the same consumption of electricity (300 KW), the lift will be capable of transporting up to 110 passengers (instead of 92 at the moment) at a speed of 2 metres/second. Painting the Eiffel Tower The repainting campaign is an important event in the life of the monument and takes on a truly mythical nature, as with everything linked to the Eiffel Tower. It represents the lasting quality of a work of art known all over the world, the colour of the monument that is symbolic of the Parisian cityscape, the technical prowess of painters unaffected by vertigo, and the importance of the methods implemented. The Tower’s Protection The Tower’s Colours Constructed using puddle iron, the Tower is protected from oxidation by several coats of paint to ensure that it lives forever. In 1900 in his book " The 300-Meter Tower ", Gustave Eiffel wrote, "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." The Tower has been re-painted 18 times since its initial construction, an average of once every seven years. It has changed colour several times, passing from red-brown to yellow-ochre, then to chestnut brown and finally to the bronze of today, slightly shaded off towards the top to ensure that the colour is perceived to be the same all the way up as it stands against the Paris sky. Sixty tons of paint are necessary to cover the Tower's surface, as well as 50 kilometers of security cords, 5 acres of protection netting, 1500 brushes, 5000 sanding disks, 1500 sets of work clothes…and more than a year for a team of 25 painters to paint the Tower from top to bottom. A FEW FIGURES for a Repainting Campaign : 250,000 m2 of surface to paint ; 25 painters – all of them specialists in work on metallic structures at great heights and on towers, and completely unaffected by vertigo ; 60 tonnes of paint ; the weight of eroded paint between two painting campaigns is estimated at 15 tonnes ; 50 kilometres of safety lines ; 2 hectares of safety nets ; 1,500 brushes ; 1,500 overalls ; 5,000 sanding disks ; 1,000 "scrub planes" (scrapers) ; 1,000 pairs of leather gloves ; Budget : around 4 million Euros Duration : around 18 months, without ever closing the monument to the public An Enormous Amount of Work to Ensure the Tower’s Longevity The Eiffel Tower is built using puddle iron, a material with a practically eternal lifespan if it is just regularly repainted! Indeed, there are various factors that can threaten this metal such as rust, the unavoidable pollution in a city, and bird droppings. 25 painters strip, clean, apply rust-proofing and the final coat of paint to the whole 300 metres. It should be mentioned that even today the painters still work using traditional methods dating back to Gustave Eiffel’s day – the painting of the Eiffel Tower is done only by hand! All “remote” work is forbidden, and so the painters must have the brush in their hand. Paint guns are of course ruled out. The Opportunity for a Complete Check-Up and to Test Even More Environmentally Friendly Paints Each painting campaign is an opportunity to check the state of the structure in detail, and if need be to replace any small corroded metallic parts. The paint applied in 2002 and 2009 is a formula with no lead pigments, having been replaced by a zinc phosphate anticorrosion agent, which is also more resistant to atmospheric pollution. Additionally, tests on paint containing volatile organic compounds almost completely devoid of solvents were carried out during the 2009 campaign in preparation for the world environment norms, which will come into effect after 2012. BACKGROUND OF THE EIFFEL TOWER’S COLOURS : 1887/88 : "Venetian red" paint, applied in the workshop before the parts were assembled. 1889 :Application of a very thick, reddish-brown coat. 1892 :The Tower turns "ochre brown". 1899 :A coat of 5 colours is painted in shaded tones from yellow-orange at the base to light yellow at the top. It was after this repainting campaign that the 7-year cycle was adopted for the renewal of the paintwork. 1907-1917-1924-1932-1939-1947 :The colour is called "yellow-brown". The 1917 repainting was delayed because of the war. 1954-61 :A new colour for the Eiffel Tower: "brownish-red". 1968-1975-1982-1988-1995-2002 :The colour “Eiffel Tower Brown” is chosen for its harmony with the Parisian cityscape. It was applied in three shaded tones, with the darkest at the bottom and the lightest at the top. A Guide to the Repainting Campaign : First things first: security equipment Before the painters begin, specialists in work on tall buildings first fit safety nets and safety lines. Safety Lines  Painters are equipped with harnesses to work on the Eiffel Tower's beams. Their security is ensured under the best possible conditions thanks to the systematic installation of safety lines (lignes de vie), which allow the workers to move around freely while staying attached to the structure at all times. Safety Nets Safety nets are fitted to secure the work areas (against falling objects) and to catch any paint flakes. In 2009 they were equipped with an “anti-drip” system for the first time, using polymer film.   Tool Safety All of the tools used are attached to the painters’ belts or wrists, including paint pots and brushes. The Painter’s Work: to form an assessment, to sand, to clean, to apply the paint The extent and complexity of the work requires a rigorous methodology that includes a preparatory stage to search for the most corroded areas (generally around 5% of the structure’s total surface). These areas are then stripped, and a first coat of an anti-rust primer is applied, followed by a second application to strengthen the rust-proofing. Lastly, a final coat of paint is applied. PAs for the rest of the structure, all of the areas judged to be in good condition undergo high-pressure steam cleaning. Treatments of any flaws or the unblocking of any drains are carried out, and lastly two coats of paint are applied. Anticorrosion painting experts are asked to inspect the site regularly, including places that are difficult to get to, and to evaluate the quality of the work. The Course of the Campaign With 15 months of active work, the campaign lasts around 18 months, interruptions due to the weather considered : - painting is impossible if the structure is too cold, - the paint does not stick well if the structure is wet. Art and the Eiffel Tower From the beginning the Tower was an attraction, but in the 1920s it became a symbol of modernity and the avant-garde. Little by little, its image was associated with Paris, until it even became its worldwide symbol. Poets, painters, singers, choreographers, film directors, and photographers have all paid homage to it. Painting  Cinema Literature  Music Songs Advertising  Events  Ahead of their Time, Painters Made the Tower into a Favourite Subject, and Contemporary Artists Continue to Use it as a Model. Georges Seurat painted it in 1888, before it was even finished. Later on, le Douanier Rousseau, Signac, Bonnard, Utrillo, Gromaire, Vuillard, Dufy, and Chagall all celebrated the Tower. From 1910 Robert Delaunay gave it cubist aspects in a whole series of canvas paintings.  A Few Painters : 1888 - Georges Seurat : « La Tour Eiffel » (Fine Arts, Museum of San Fransisco). 1889 - Jean Beraud : « Entrée de l’Exposition Universelle » (Musée Carnavalet à Paris). 1890 - Le Douanier Rousseau : « Moi-même, portrait paysage » (Narodni Galerie à Prague). 1890 - Paul Signac : « Seine Grenelle » (Coll. Particulière). 1911 - Robert Delaunay : « Tour Eiffel dite la Tour Rouge » (S.R. Guggenheim Museum à New York). 1910/1912 - Robert Delaunay : « La Ville de Paris » (MNAM - Centre G. Pompidou à Paris). 1913 - Marc Chagall : « Paris vu par la fenêtre » (S.R. Guggenheim Museum de New York). 1926 - Romaine Brooks : « Jean Cocteau » (MNAM - Centre G. Pompidou à Paris). 1954 - Marc Chagall : « Champ de Mars » (Essen Musée Folkwang). 1954 - Nicolas de Staël : « La Tour Eiffel » - Musée de Troyes. Also : Raoul Dufy, Gino Severini, Utrillo, Bernard Buffet, Pol Bury, Roger Lersy… The Eiffel Tower, a Muse for the Seventh Art Filmed by Louis Lumière from as early as 1897, and present ever since in a considerable number of productions, the Eiffel Tower was all the more tied to the adventure of cinema as Gustave Eiffel contributed as a silent partner to the company created by Léon Gaumont in 1895. During the 20th Century, the Eiffel Tower became the symbol of Paris and of France throughout the world. From the beginnings of cinema to today, its presence has given us somewhere to set the plot, or allowed us to give our works a timeless or romantic edge. A Few Films : 1897 - « Panorama pendant l’ascension de la Tour Eiffel » by Louis Lumière 1897 - « Images de L’Exposition 1900 » by Georges Méliès. 1905 - « La Course à la perruque » by Georges Hatot. 1923 - « Paris qui dort » by René Clair. 1927 - « La Tour » de René Clair (documentaire) et « Mystères de la Tour Eiffel » by Julien Duvivier. 1930 - « La Fin du monde » by Abel Gance. 1939 - « La Tour Eiffel » by Jean Denis. 1945 - « À l’assaut de la Tour Eiffel » by Alain Pol. 1948 - « L’Homme de la Tour Eiffel » by Burgess Meredith. 1952 - « Bonjour Paris » by Jean Image (dessin animé). 1955 - « Marguerite de la nuit » by Claude Autant-Lara. 1956 - - « Le Chanteur de Mexico » by Richard Pottier. 1960 - « Zazie dans le métro » by Louis Malle 1965 - « La Grande Course autour du monde » by Blacke Edwards. 1966 - « Un idiot à Paris » by S. Korber. 1980 - « Les Uns et les Autres » de Claude Lelouch et « Superman II » de Richard Lester. 1982 - « Le Ruffian » by José Giovanni. 1984 - « Rive droite – rive gauche » by Philippe Labro et« Dangereusement vôtre » de John Glen. 1998 - « Le loup-garou de Paris » by A. Waller. 2000 - « Epouse-moi » by Harriet Marin. 2003 - « Le Divorce » by James Ivory. 2003 – « Il fuggiasco » (le Fugitif) by Andrea Manni. 2004 – « Le démon de Midi » by Marie-Pascale Osterrieth. 2005 - « Angel-A » by Luc Besson. 2005 - « Da Vinci code » by Ron Howard. 2006 - « La légende vraie de la Tour Eiffel » by Simon Brook. 2007 - « Rush Hours III » by Brett Rattner. 2010 - « From Paris with Love » by Pierre Morel 2010 - « Adèle Blanc-Sec » by Luc Besson The Tower Also Inspired Poets, Writers, and Philosophers Among them can be named Blaise Cendrars, Guillaume Apollinaire, Aragon, Raymond Queneau, Jean Cocteau, Jean Giraudoux, Le Corbusier, François Coppée, Dino Buzzati, and Guy de Maupassant, not to mention Roland Barthes and his magnificent texts (“The Eiffel Tower” – Ed. Delpire – 1964). Music Musical theatre: “Les Mariés de la tour Eiffel” (“The Marriage on the Eiffel Tower”) by Jean Cocteau "Silhouette": a work from Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. As homage to Gustave Eiffel, it was created in 2010 Singing about the Tower A source of inspiration for songs, another tradition is to put on grandiose events at its feet, like that of the 25th September 1962 when Darryl F. Zanuk organised a mind-blowing event for the launch of the film “Le jour le plus long” (“The Longest Day”). Edith Piaf appeared on the 1st floor and sang in front of 25,000 Parisians. Charles Aznavour and Georges Brassens would follow in 1966 to help the campaign against hunger. Jean-Michel Jarre presented the 50th birthday of UNESCO on the 14th July 1995. The “3 Tenors” concert brought together over 200,000 spectators in July 1998 at the foot of the Tower to listen to José Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. Johnny Hallyday broke all the records in June 2000 by uniting 600,000 spectators for a concert and pyrotechnic event. The Tower is also a privileged place for private concerts and other showcases in the reception room on the 1st floor, such as those of Alanis Morissette, Robbie Williams, Texas, Raphaël, Marc Lavoine, Christophe Maé, Justin Bieber, and VV Brown, as well as Véronique Sanson. A Few Songs : Michel Emer : « Paris, mais c’est la Tour Eiffel… » Charles Trénet : « Y a d’la joie, la Tour Eiffel part en balade… » Léo Ferré : « La Tour Eiffel a froid aux pieds… » Jacques Dutronc : « Seine Grenelle » (Coll. Particulière). Pascal Obispo : « Je suis tombé pour elle… » The Eiffel Tower and Advertising For many years, the Eiffel Tower has been used in advertising. On the spire of the Tower itself, between 1925 and 1936, “Citroën” was written in luminous letters. Since then, Air France, La Samaritaine, Sony Ericsson, Yves-Saint-Laurent, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Philips, Nina Ricci, Alain Afflelou, ADP, American Express, Dior, and Givenchy, are among the best known brands to have used it as a reference image. THE IMAGE AND THE BRAND OF THE EIFFEL TOWER Its Most Original Artistic Vocation: Pyrotechnics From as early as 1888, a firework was set off to celebrate the completion of the construction of the monument. In 1937, for the Exposition des Arts et Techniques, a lighting system was designed by the architect André Granet. Every evening, magnificent fireworks, veritable fountains of fire, were set off from each of the Tower’s three floors. More recently, the “Countdown to the Year 2000”, a veritable dance of fire and light, broadcast by 250 television channels around the world, fired the planet’s imagination. The event was produced by Groupe F and ECA2. Lastly, on the 14th July 2009, the traditional pyrotechnics took place on the Tower (and not at the Trocadero, where the firework show to celebrate the Fête Nationale was still put on by the Mayor of Paris) following the theme of its 120th birthday. PHOTOS OF THE EIFFEL TOWER’S FIREWORKS