Gustave Eiffel’s Unique EIFFEL TOWER-by Michael Roberts
Source:Thuppahis
Visit https://historia.nationalgeographic.com.es/a/torre-eiffel-construccion-coloso_11345 for the full version of “ARCHITECTURAL CHALLENGE. THE EIFFEL TOWER: THE CONSTRUCTION OF A COLOSSUS” …………………… an item made available by Capt Kumar Kirinde and his RAFOP collective …. with only some segments reproduced here.
Thanks to his experience in the design of great works of iron, in 1889 Gustave Eiffel managed to erect a tower over 300 meters high for the Universal Exhibition in Paris.
Face of Gustave Eiffel at the base of the tower
Although he was an excellent engineer, Gustave Eiffel’s success rested even more on his skills as an entrepreneur. In 1887 he signed a contract by which the French State and the city of Paris would provide a subsidy of 1.5 million francs; 25 percent of the total construction cost. To obtain the remaining funds, Eiffel created a joint-stock company with a capital of five million francs, half of which was contributed by three banks and the other by Eiffel himself. Despite the fact that the expenses rose 2.5 million more, Eiffel managed to recover the entire investment in a few months thanks to the income from the sale of tickets, which he received by virtue of a 20-year operating license.
Photo: Bnf / RMN – Grand Palais
Last-hour changes
Gustave Eiffel -below- on the spiral staircase that initially linked the second floor to the top of the tower. The project would change and it would not be exactly as it was projected at the beginning.
Photo: Patrice Schmidt / Rmn-Grand Palais (Musée d´Orsay)
Work at height: The workers who worked on the construction of the Eiffel Tower proved to be immune to vertigo. In fact, during the works there was only one fatal accident that also occurred outside working hours…….
Photo: Louis-Emile Durandelle / Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Below the water table: Several of the metal caissons used to dig under the water table can be seen.
Due to the curvature of the tower, three elevator systems were created, one for each level. In the image, visitors to the tower in the cabin of the third elevator, which ascends vertically to the top.
Theatre: To attract the public, gift shops, restaurants and even a theater were set up on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. Much of these structures were removed a few decades later…………
Piece by piece: Engraving of 1889 in which the placement of a rivet in the tower is observed.
Taking shape: Several workers work on the construction
Photo: René Gabriel Ojéda / Rmn – Grand Palais de (Musée d´Orsay)
February 1888: The most delicate moment in the construction process was the union of the four pillars to form the first floor of the tower since the structures had to fit together with millimeter precision. Eiffel knew that there would inevitably be some imbalance, so a piston-like cavity was created in each of the pillars into which pressurized water was injected until the desired leveling was achieved. After this stage, the construction process was simpler.
Perspective from below: This anonymous photograph was taken from the ground shortly after the construction of the tower.
The great claim of the Exhibition: A poster advertises the reduced train fares proposed by the Chemins de Fer Paris-Lyon-Mediterranée railway company for travel to the Universal Exhibition in Paris, in 1889.
Bird’s eye view of Paris: A group of visitors, armed with telescopes and binoculars, observe Paris from the platfom of the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, 115 meters high.
Photo: Schmidt / Rmn – Grand Palais
The colours of the tower: For its inauguration in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was painted a dark red, as shown in this hand-colored photograph from that year, which shows the Trocadero Palace in the background. Since 1968 it has been painted bronze…. Photo: Culver Pictures/Aurimages
Elevators: Due to the curvature of the tower, three elevator systems were created, one for each level. In the image, visitors to the tower in the cabin of the third elevator, which ascends vertically to the top….
Theatre : To the public, gift shops, restaurants and even a theater were set up on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. Much of these structures were removed a few decades later….. Photo: Patrice Schmidt / Rmn – Grand Palais
The lighthouse: Eiffel placed at the top a series of lighthouses that illuminated the city’s monuments….. Photo: René Gabriel Ojéda / Rmn – Grand Palais
Thomas Edison’s Visit: The famous inventor climbed the tower several times in 1889. Here he appears alongside Adolphe Salles, Eiffel’s son-in-law. Photo: Bpk / Scala / Firenze
Paris under Nazi occupation: At the beginning of the German occupation of France, Hitler visited Paris and wanted to climb the Eiffel Tower, but the workers sabotaged the elevators and he could only be photographed on the esplanade of the Champ de Mars.
Photo: Bruce Bi/Age Fotostock
Lights in the night
The Eiffel Tower shines with the night lighting system that was introduced in the 1980s….. Photo: Bertrand Gardel / Gtres
Paris emblem
The Eiffel Tower stands in the middle of the Champ de Mars, where in 1889 it was erected for the Universal Exhibition in Paris. The public works director of the capital of France stated at the beginning of the work on the tower: “this work will make Paris resound even in the East […] the whole world will contain its breath upon discovering this gigantic tower”
This Item was made available by Retd. Capt. Kumar Kirinde and his assiduous collective: RAFOP …. Only some photographs are reproduced here.
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