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==History== ==History==
The Eiffel Tower is a tall tower in South Africa. The Eiffel Tower is a tall tower in South Africa.

===Construction===
] of the Eiffel Tower]]
]
Work on the foundations started in January 1887. Those for the east and south legs were straightforward, each leg resting on four {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} concrete slabs, one for each of the principal girders of each leg but the other two, being closer to the river ], were more complicated: each slab needed two ] installed by using compressed-air caissons {{convert|15|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} in diameter driven to a depth of {{convert|22|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref>Loyrette 1985 p.123</ref> to support the concrete slabs, which were {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} thick. Each of these slabs supported a block built of ] each with an inclined top to bear a supporting shoe for the ironwork. Each shoe was anchored into the stonework by a pair of bolts 10&nbsp;cm (4&nbsp;in) in diameter and {{convert|7.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} long. The foundations were complete by 30 June and the erection of the ironwork began. The very visible work on-site was complemented by the enormous amount of exacting preparatory work that was entailed: the drawing office produced 1,700 general drawings and 3,629 detailed drawings of the 18,038 different parts needed.<ref>Loyrette 1985, p.148</ref> The task of drawing the components was complicated by the complex angles involved in the design and the degree of precision required: the position of rivet holes was specified to within 0.1&nbsp;mm (0.04&nbsp;in) and angles worked out to one ]. The finished components, some already riveted together into sub-assemblies, arrived on horse-drawn carts from the factory in the nearby Parisian suburb of ] and were first bolted together, the bolts being replaced by rivets as construction progressed. No drilling or shaping was done on site: if any part did not fit it was sent back to the factory for alteration. In all there were 18,038 pieces joined by two and a half million rivets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/documentation/dossiers/page/invention.html |title=The Tower Conception And Design |language={{Fr icon}} |publisher=Tour-eiffel.fr |accessdate=24 May 2010}}</ref>

At first the legs were constructed as ]s but about halfway to the first level construction was paused in order to construct a substantial timber ]. This caused a renewal of the concerns about the structural soundness of the project, and sensational headlines such as "Eiffel Suicide!" and "Gustave Eiffel has gone mad: he has been confined in an Asylum" appeared in the popular press.<ref>Harvie 206, p.110</ref> At this stage a small "creeper" ] was installed in each leg, designed to move up the tower as construction progressed and making use of the guides for the lifts which were to be fitted in each leg. The critical stage of joining the four legs at the first level was complete by March 1888. Although the metalwork had been prepared with the utmost precision, provision had been made to carry out small adjustments in order to precisely align the legs: ] ] were fitted to the shoes at the base of each leg, each capable of exerting a force of 800 tonnes, and in addition the legs had been intentionally constructed at a slightly steeper angle than necessary, being supported by ] on the scaffold.

Although construction involved 300 on-site employees, only one person died thanks to Eiffel's stringent safety precautions and use of movable stagings, guard-rails, and screens.


===Inauguration and the 1889 Exposition=== ===Inauguration and the 1889 Exposition===

Revision as of 14:20, 30 September 2013

Observation tower,, Radio broadcasting tower in Paris, France
Eiffel Tower
La Tour Eiffel
The Eiffel Tower as seen from
the Champ de Mars
Eiffel Tower is located in ParisEiffel TowerLocation within Paris
Record height
Tallest in the world from 1889 to 1930
General information
TypeObservation tower,
Radio broadcasting tower
LocationParis, France
Construction started1887
Completed1889
Opening31 March 1889
OwnerCity of Paris, France
ManagementSociété d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE)
Height
Antenna spire324.00 m (1,063 ft)
Roof300.65 m (986 ft)
Top floor273.00 m (896 ft)
Technical details
Floor count3
Lifts/elevators9
Design and construction
Architect(s)Stephen Sauvestre
Structural engineerMaurice Koechlin,
Émile Nouguier
Main contractorCompagnie des Etablissements Eiffel
References

The Eiffel Tower (Template:Lang-fr, [tuʁ ɛfɛl]) is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, 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. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world; 7.1 million people ascended it in 2011. The tower received its 250 millionth visitor in 2010.

The tower stands 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-floor building. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to assume the title of the tallest man-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 17 feet (5.2 m). Not including broadcast antennas, it is the second-tallest structure in France, after the Millau Viaduct.

The tower has three levels for visitors. The third level observatory's upper platform is at 279.11 m (915.7 ft) 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 walk 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 usually accessible only by lift. The first and second levels have restaurants.

The tower has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France, often in the establishing shot of films set in the city.

History

The Eiffel Tower is a tall tower in South Africa.

Inauguration and the 1889 Exposition

The 1889 Exposition Universelle for which the Eiffel Tower was built. For over forty years after its construction, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest man-made structure in the world.

The main structural work was completed at the end of March 1889 and on the 31st Eiffel celebrated this by leading a group of government officials, accompanied by representatives of the press, to the top of the tower. Since the lifts were not yet in operation, the ascent was made by foot, and took over an hour, Eiffel frequently stopping to make explanations of various features. Most of the party chose to stop at the lower levels, but a few, including Nouguier, Compagnon, the President of the City Council and reporters from Le Figaro and Le Monde Illustré completed the climb. At 2.35 Eiffel hoisted a large tricolore, to the accompaniment of a 25-gun salute fired from the lower level. There was still work to be done, particularly on the lifts and the fitting out of the facilities for visitors, and the tower was not opened to the public until nine days after the opening of the Exposition on 6 May, and even then the lifts had not been completed.

The tower was an immediate success with the public, and lengthy queues formed to make the ascent. Tickets cost 2 francs for the first level, 3 for the second, and 5 for the top, with half-price admission on Sundays, and by the end of the exhibition there had been nearly two million visitors.

Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years; it was to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiration of the permit. In the opening weeks of World War I, powerful radio transmitters were fitted to the tower in order to jam German communications. This seriously hindered their advance on Paris, and contributed to the Allied victory at the First Battle of the Marne.

Subsequent events

Panoramic view during ascension of the Eiffel Tower by the Lumière brothers, 1898
Franz Reichelt's preparations and fall from the Eiffel Tower.
American soldiers watch the Eiffel Tower on 25 August 1944, during World War II.
Number of visitors per year between 1889 and 2004
10 September 1889
Thomas Edison visited the tower. He signed the guestbook with the following message—

To M Eiffel the Engineer the brave builder of so gigantic and original specimen of modern Engineering from one who has the greatest respect and admiration for all Engineers including the Great Engineer the Bon Dieu, Thomas Edison.

19 October 1901
Alberto Santos-Dumont in his Dirigible No.6 won a 10,000-franc prize offered by Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe for the first person to make a flight from St. Cloud to the Eiffel tower and back in less than half an hour.
1910
Father Theodor Wulf measured radiant energy at the top and bottom of the tower. He found more at the top than expected, incidentally discovering what are today known as cosmic rays.
4 February 1912
Austrian tailor Franz Reichelt died after jumping 60 metres from the first deck of the Eiffel tower with his homemade parachute.
1914
A radio transmitter located in the tower jammed German radio communications during the lead-up to the First Battle of the Marne.
1925
The con artist Victor Lustig "sold" the tower for scrap metal on two separate, but related occasions.
February 1926
Pilot Leon Collet killed after flying beneath the span of the tower, his airplane having become entangled in an aerial of the wireless station.
May 21, 1927
Charles Lindbergh piloted his "Spirit of Saint Louis" into Paris and circled the Eiffel tower before landing. "I first saw the lights of Paris a little before 10 p.m., or 5 p.m., New York time, and a few minutes later I was circling the Eiffel Tower at an altitude of about four thousand feet."
1930
The tower lost the title of the world's tallest structure when the Chrysler Building was completed in New York City.
1925 to 1934
Illuminated signs for Citroën adorned three of the tower's four sides, making it the tallest advertising space in the world at the time.
1940–1944
Upon the German occupation of Paris in 1940, the lift cables were cut by the French so that Adolf Hitler would have to climb the steps to the summit. The parts to repair them were allegedly impossible to obtain because of the war. In 1940 German soldiers had to climb to the top to hoist the swastika, but the flag was so large it blew away just a few hours later, and was replaced by a smaller one. When visiting Paris, Hitler chose to stay on the ground: it was later said that Hitler conquered France, but did not conquer the Eiffel Tower . A Frenchman scaled the tower during the German occupation to hang the French flag. In August 1944, when the Allies were nearing Paris, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower along with the rest of the city. Von Choltitz disobeyed the order. Some say Hitler was later persuaded to keep the tower intact so it could later be used for communications. The lifts of the Tower were working normally within hours of the Liberation of Paris.
3 January 1956
A fire damaged the top of the tower.
1957
The present radio antenna was added to the top.
1980s
A restaurant and its supporting iron scaffolding midway up the tower was dismantled; it was purchased and reconstructed on St. Charles Avenue and Josephine Street in the Garden District of New Orleans, Louisiana, by entrepreneurs John Onorio and Daniel Bonnot, originally as the Tour Eiffel Restaurant, later as the Red Room and now as the Cricket Club (owned by the New Orleans Culinary Institute). The restaurant was re-assembled from 11,000 pieces that crossed the Atlantic in a 40-foot (12 m) cargo container.
31 March 1984
Robert Moriarty flew a Beechcraft Bonanza through the arches of the tower.
1987
A.J. Hackett made one of his first bungee jumps from the top of the Eiffel Tower, using a special cord he had helped develop. Hackett was arrested by the Paris police upon reaching the ground.
27 October 1991
Thierry Devaux, along with mountain guide Hervé Calvayrac, performed a series of acrobatic figures of bungee jumping (not allowed) from the second floor of the Tower. Facing the Champ de Mars, Thierry Devaux was using an electric winch between each figure to go back up. When firemen arrived, he stopped after the sixth bungee jump.
New Year's Eve 1999
The Eiffel Tower played host to Paris's Millennium Celebration. On this occasion, flashing lights and four high-power searchlights were installed on the tower, and fireworks were set off all over it. An exhibition above a cafeteria on the first floor commemorates this event. Since then, the light show has become a nightly event. The searchlights on top of the tower make it a beacon in Paris's night sky, and the 20,000 flash bulbs give the tower a sparkly appearance every hour on the hour.
28 November 2002
The tower received its 200,000,000th guest.
2004
The Eiffel Tower began hosting an ice skating rink on the first floor each winter.

Design of the tower

Material

The Eiffel Tower from below

The puddled iron (wrought iron) structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes, while the entire structure, including non-metal components, is approximately 10,000 tonnes. As a demonstration of the economy of design, if the 7,300 tonnes of the metal structure were melted down it would fill the 125-metre-square base to a depth of only 6 cm (2.36 in), assuming the density of the metal to be 7.8 tonnes per cubic metre. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7.1 in) because of thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun.

Wind considerations

At the time the tower was built many people were shocked by its daring shape. Eiffel was criticised for the design and accused of trying to create something artistic, or inartistic according to the viewer, without regard to engineering. Eiffel and his engineers, however, as experienced bridge builders, understood the importance of wind forces and knew that if they were going to build the tallest structure in the world they had to be certain it would withstand the wind. In an interview reported in the newspaper Le Temps, Eiffel said:

Now to what phenomenon did I 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.

Researchers have found that Eiffel used empirical and graphical methods accounting for the effects of wind rather than a specific mathematical formula. Careful examination of the tower shows a basically exponential shape; actually two different exponentials, the lower section overdesigned to ensure resistance to wind forces. Several mathematical explanations have been proposed over the years for the success of the design; the most recent is described as a nonlinear integral equation based on counterbalancing the wind pressure on any point on the tower with the tension between the construction elements at that point. As a demonstration of the tower's effectiveness in wind resistance, it sways only 6–7 cm (2–3 in) in the wind.

Accommodation

When built, the first level contained two restaurants: an "Anglo-American Bar", and a 250 seat theatre. A 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) promenade ran around the outside.

On the second level, the French newspaper Le Figaro had an office and a printing press, where a special souvenir edition, Le Figaro de la Tour, was produced. There was also a pâtisserie.

On the third level were laboratories for various experiments and a small apartment reserved for Eiffel to entertain guests. This is now open to the public, complete with period decorations and lifelike models of Gustave and some guests.

Engraved names

Main article: List of the 72 names on the Eiffel Tower

Gustave Eiffel engraved on the tower seventy-two names of French scientists, engineers, and mathematicians in recognition of their contributions. This engraving was painted over at the beginning of the twentieth century but restored in 1986–1987 by the Société Nouvelle d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, a company contracted to operate business related to the Tower.

Maintenance

Maintenance of the tower includes applying 50 to 60 tonnes (49 to 59 long tons; 55 to 66 short tons) of paint every seven years to protect it from rust. The height of the Eiffel Tower varies by 15 cm (5.9 in) due to temperature.

Aesthetic considerations

In order to enhance the impression of height, three separate colors of paint are used on the tower, with the darkest on the bottom and the lightest at the top. On occasion the color of the paint is changed; the tower is currently painted a shade of bronze. On the first floor there are interactive consoles hosting a poll for the color to use for a future session of painting.

The only non-structural elements are the four decorative grillwork arches, added in Stephen Sauvestre's sketches, which served to reassure visitors that the structure was safe, and to frame views of other nearby architecture.

One of the great Hollywood movie clichés is that the view from a Parisian window always includes the tower. In reality, since zoning restrictions limit the height of most buildings in Paris to seven stories high, only a small number of taller buildings have a clear view of the tower.

Panorama of Paris from the Tour Eiffel Panorama of Paris from the Eiffel Tower

Tourism

The Eiffel Tower seen at night from The Palais de Chaillot

Transport

The nearest Paris Métro station is Bir-Hakeim and the nearest RER station is Pont de l'Alma. The tower itself is located at the intersection of the quai Branly and the Pont d'Iéna.

Popularity

More than 200,000,000 people have visited the tower since its construction in 1889, including 6,719,200 in 2006. The tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world.

Passenger lifts

View of Eiffel Tower from the Montparnasse Tower.

Ground to the second level

The original lifts (elevators) to the first and second floors were provided by two companies. Both companies had to overcome many technical obstacles as neither company (or indeed any company) had experience with installing lifts climbing to such heights with large loads. The slanting tracks with changing angles further complicated the problems. The East and West lifts were supplied by the French company Roux Combaluzier Lepape, using hydraulically powered chains and rollers. The North and South lifts were provided by the American company Otis using car designs similar to the original installation but using an improved hydraulic and cable scheme. The French lifts had a very poor performance and were replaced with the current installations in 1897 (West Pillar) and 1899 (East Pillar) by Fives-Lille using an improved hydraulic and rope scheme. Both of the original installations operated broadly on the principle of the Fives-Lille lifts.

The Fives-Lille lifts from ground level to the first and second levels are operated by cables and pulleys driven by massive water-powered pistons. The hydraulic scheme was somewhat unusual for the time in that it included three large counterweights of 200 tonnes each sitting on top of hydraulic rams which doubled up as accumulators for the water. As the lifts ascend the inclined arc of the pillars, the angle of ascent changes. The two lift cabs are kept more or less level and indeed are level at the landings. The cab floors do take on a slight angle at times between landings.

File:EiffelTowerHydraulics.jpg
The tops of the hydraulic accumulators (counterbalances) at the base of one of the Eiffel Tower lifts. The red painted one is not in use. They are in the lowered position.

The principle behind the lifts is similar to the operation of a block and tackle but in reverse. Two large hydraulic rams (over 1 metre diameter) with a 16 metre travel are mounted horizontally in the base of the pillar which pushes a carriage (the French word for it translates as chariot and this term will be used henceforth to distinguish it from the lift carriage) with 16 large triple sheaves mounted on it. There are 14 similar sheaves mounted statically. Six wire ropes are rove back and forth between the sheaves such that each rope passes between the two sets of sheaves seven times. The ropes then leave the final sheaves on the chariot and pass up through a series of guiding sheaves to above the second floor and then through a pair of triple sheaves back down to the lift carriage again passing guiding sheaves.

This arrangement means that the lift carriage, complete with its cars and passengers, travels 8 times the distance that the rams move the chariot, the 128 metres from the ground to the second floor. The force exerted by the rams also has to be 8 times the total weight of the lift carriage, cars, and passengers, plus extra to account for various losses such as friction. The hydraulic fluid was water, normally stored in three accumulators, complete with counterbalance weights. To make the lift ascend, water was pumped using an electrically driven pump from the accumulators to the two rams. Since the counterbalance weights provided much of the pressure required, the pump only had to provide the extra effort. For the descent, it was only necessary to allow the water to flow back to the accumulators using a control valve. The lifts were operated by an operator perched precariously underneath the lift cars. His position (with a dummy operator) can still be seen on the lifts today.

The Fives-Lille lifts were completely upgraded in 1986 to meet modern safety requirements and to make the lifts easier to operate. A new computer-controlled system was installed which completely automated the operation. One of the three counterbalances was taken out of use, and the cars were replaced with a more modern and lighter structure. Most importantly, the main driving force was removed from the original water pump such that the water hydraulic system provided only a counterbalancing function. The main driving force was transferred to a 320 kW electrically driven oil hydraulic pump which drives a pair of hydraulic motors on the chariot itself, thus providing the motive power. The new lift cars complete with their carriage and a full 92 passenger load weigh 22 tonnes.

Owing to elasticity in the ropes and the time taken to get the cars level with the landings, each lift in normal service takes an average of 8 minutes and 50 seconds to do the round trip, spending an average of 1 minute and 15 seconds at each floor. The average journey time between floors is just 1 minute.

The original Otis lifts in the North and South pillars in their turn proved to be inferior to the new (in 1899) French lifts and were scrapped from the South pillar in 1900 and from the North pillar in 1913 after failed attempts to repower them with an electric motor. The North and South pillars were to remain without lifts until 1965 when increasing visitor numbers persuaded the operators to install a relatively standard and modern cable hoisted system in the north pillar using a cable-hauled counterbalance weight, but hoisted by a block and tackle system to reduce its travel to one third of the lift travel. The counterbalance is clearly visible within the structure of the North pillar. This latter lift was upgraded in 1995 with new cars and computer controls.

The South pillar acquired a completely new fairly standard electrically driven lift in 1983 to serve the Jules Verne restaurant. This was also supplied by Otis. A further four-ton service lift was added to the South pillar in 1989 by Otis to relieve the main lifts when moving relatively small loads or even just maintenance personnel.

The East and West hydraulic (water) lift works are on display and, at least in theory, are open to the public in a small museum located in base of the East and West tower, which is somewhat hidden from public view. Because the massive mechanism requires frequent lubrication and attention, public access is often restricted. However, when open, the wait times are much less than the other, more popular, attractions. The rope mechanism of the North tower is visible to visitors as they exit from the lift.

Second to the third level

File:Eiffel Stairs.jpg
The original spiral stairs to the third floor which were only 80 centimetres wide. Note also the small service lift in the background.

The original lifts from the second to the third floor were also of a water-powered hydraulic design supplied by Léon Edoux. Instead of using a separate counterbalance, the two lift cars counterbalanced each other. A pair of 81-metre-long hydraulic rams were mounted on the second level reaching nearly halfway up to the third level. A lift car was mounted on top of the rams. Ropes ran from the top of this car up to a sheave on the third level and back down to a second car. The result of this arrangement was that each car only travelled half the distance between the second and third levels and passengers were required to change lifts halfway, walking between the cars along a narrow gangway with a very impressive and relatively unobstructed downward view. The ten-ton cars held 65 passengers each or up to four tons.

One interesting feature of the original installation was that the hoisting rope ran through guides to retain it on windy days to prevent it flapping and becoming damaged. The guides were mechanically moved out of the way of the ascending car by the movement of the car itself. In spite of some antifreeze being added to the water that operated this system, it nevertheless had to close to the public from November to March each year.

The original lifts complete with their hydraulic mechanism were completely scrapped in 1982 after 97 years of service. They were replaced with two pairs of relatively standard rope-hoisted cars which were able to operate all the year round. The cars operate in pairs with one providing the counterbalance for the other. Neither car can move unless both sets of doors are closed and both operators have given a start command. The commands from the cars to the hoisting mechanism are by radio, obviating the necessity of a control cable. The replacement installation also has the advantage that the ascent can be made without changing cars and has reduced the ascent time from 8 minutes (including change) to 1 minute and 40 seconds. This installation also has guides for the hoisting ropes, but they are electrically operated. Once the guide has moved out of the way as the car ascends, it automatically reverses when the car has passed to prevent the mechanism becoming snagged on the car on the downward journey in the event it has failed to completely clear the car. Unfortunately these lifts do not have the capacity to move as many people as the three public lower lifts, and long queues to ascend to the third level are common. Most of the intermediate level structure present on the tower today was installed when the lifts were replaced and allows maintenance workers to take the lift halfway.

The replacement of these lifts allowed the restructuring of the criss-cross beams in upper part of the tower and further allowed the installation of two emergency staircases. These replaced the dangerous winding stairs that were installed when the tower was constructed.

Restaurants

The tower has two restaurants: Le 58 tour Eiffel, on the first floor 311 ft (95 m) above sea level; and the Le Jules Verne, a gastronomical restaurant on the second floor, with a private lift. This restaurant has one star in the Michelin Red Guide. In January 2007, the multi-Michelin star chef Alain Ducasse was brought in to run Jules Verne.

Attempted relocation

According to interviews, Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau negotiated a secret agreement with French President 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 allegedly vetoed by the company which operated the tower out of fear that the French government could refuse permission for the tower to be restored to its original location.

Economics

The American TV show Pricing the Priceless speculates that in 2011 the tower would cost about $480,000,000 to build, that the land under the tower is worth $350,000,000, and that the scrap value of the tower is worth $3,500,000. The TV show estimates the tower makes a profit of about $29,000,000 per year, though it is unlikely that the Eiffel Tower is managed so as to maximize profit.

It costs $5,300,000 to repaint the tower, which is done once every seven years. The electric bill is $400,000 per year for 7.5 million kilowatt-hours.

The Tokyo Tower in Japan is a very similar structure of very similar size. It was finished in 1958 at a final cost of ¥2.8 billion ($8.4 million in 1958).

Reproductions

Replica at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, Nevada, United States
Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day
The Eiffel Tower as seen from Rue de Monttessuy in the 7th arrondissement.
File:Altitude95Interior.jpg
Interior of the Altitude 95 restaurant in the Eiffel Tower.
Main article: List of Eiffel Tower replicas

As one of the most iconic images in the world, the Eiffel Tower has been the inspiration for the creation of over 30 duplicates and similar towers around the world.

Communications

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the tower has been used for radio transmission. Until the 1950s, an occasionally modified set of antenna wires ran from the summit to anchors on the Avenue de Suffren and Champ de Mars. They were connected to long-wave transmitters in small bunkers; in 1909, a permanent underground radio centre was built near the south pillar and still exists today. On 20 November 1913, the Paris Observatory, using the Eiffel Tower as an antenna, exchanged sustained wireless signals with the United States Naval Observatory which used an antenna in Arlington, Virginia. The object of the transmissions was to measure the difference in longitude between Paris and Washington, D.C. Today, both radio and television stations broadcast their signals from the top of the Eiffel.

FM-radio

Frequency kW Service
87.8 MHz 10 France Inter
89.0 MHz 10 RFI Paris
89.9 MHz 6 TSF Jazz
90.4 MHz 10 Nostalgie
90.9 MHz 4 Chante France

Television

Analogue

Analogue television signals ceased from the Eiffel Tower on 8 March 2011.

Frequency VHF UHF kW Service
182.25 MHz 6 100 Canal+
479.25 MHz 22 500 France 2
503.25 MHz 25 500 TF1
527.25 MHz 28 500 France 3
543.25 MHz 30 100 France 5
567.25 MHz 33 100 M6


Image copyright claims

The tower and its representations have long been in the public domain. However, a French court ruled, in June 1990, that a special lighting display on the tower in 1989, for the tower's 100th anniversary, was an "original visual creation" protected by copyright. The Court of Cassation, France's judicial court of last resort, upheld the ruling in March 1992. The Société d'exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE) now considers any illumination of the tower to be under copyright. As a result, it is no longer legal to publish contemporary photographs of the tower at night without permission in France and some other countries.

The imposition of copyright has been controversial. The Director of Documentation for what was then the Société nouvelle d'exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SNTE), Stéphane Dieu, commented in January 2005, "It is really just a way to manage commercial use of the image, so that it isn't used in ways we don't approve." However, it also potentially has the effect of prohibiting tourist photographs of the tower at night from being published, as well as hindering non-profit and semi-commercial publication of images of the tower. Besides, French doctrine and jurisprudence traditionally allow pictures incorporating a copyrighted work as long as their presence is incidental or accessory to the main represented subject, a reasoning akin to the de minimis rule. Thus, SETE could not claim copyright on photographs or panoramas of Paris incorporating the lit tower.

In popular culture

Main article: Eiffel Tower in popular culture

As a global landmark, the Eiffel Tower is featured in media including films, video games, and television shows.

In a commitment ceremony in 2007, Erika Eiffel, an American woman famously "married" the Eiffel Tower. Her relationship with the tower has been the subject of extensive global publicity.

Taller structures

Although it was the world's tallest structure when completed in 1889, the Eiffel Tower has since lost its standing both as the tallest lattice tower and as the tallest structure in France.

Lattice towers taller than the Eiffel Tower

Further information: List of tallest towers in the world and Observation deck
Name Pinnacle height Year Country Town Remarks
Tokyo Skytree 2,080 ft (634 m) 2011 Japan Tokyo
Kiev TV Tower 1,263 ft (385 m) 1973 Ukraine Kiev Tallest lattice tower of the world
Tashkent Tower 1,230 ft (375 m) 1985 Uzbekistan Tashkent
Pylons of Zhoushan Island Overhead Powerline Tie 1,214 ft (370 m) 2009 People's Republic of China Jiangyin 2 towers, tallest pylons in the world
Pylons of Yangtze River Crossing 1,137 ft (347 m) 2003 People's Republic of China Jiangyin 2 towers
Dragon Tower 1,102 ft (336 m) 2000 People's Republic of China Harbin
Tokyo Tower 1,091 ft (333 m) 1958 Japan Tokyo
WITI TV Tower 1,078 ft (329 m) 1962 U.S. Shorewood, Wisconsin
WSB TV Tower 1,075 ft (328 m) 1957 U.S. Atlanta, Georgia

Architectural structures in France taller than the Eiffel Tower

Further information: List of tallest structures in France
Name Pinnacle height Year Structure type Town Remarks
Longwave transmitter Allouis 350 m (1,150 ft) 1974 Guyed Mast Allouis
HWU transmitter 350 m (1,150 ft) ? Guyed Mast Rosnay Military VLF-Transmitter, multiple masts
Viaduc de Millau 343 m (1,125 ft) 2004 Bridge Pillar Millau
TV Mast Niort-Maisonnay 330 m (1,080 ft) ? Guyed Mast Niort
Transmitter Le Mans-Mayet 342 m (1,122 ft) 1993 Guyed Mast Mayet
La Regine transmitter 330 m (1,080 ft) 1973 Guyed Mast Saissac Military VLF transmitter
Transmitter Roumoules 330 m (1,080 ft) 1974 Guyed Mast Roumoules spare transmission mast for long wave, insulated against ground

Gallery

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See also

References

  1. "Identity card of the Eiffel Tower" (in Template:Fr icon). Tour-eiffel.fr. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  2. "The documents" (in Template:Fr icon). Tour-eiffel.fr. Retrieved 24 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  3. "The structure of the Eiffel Tower and its evolution" (in Template:Fr icon). Tour-eiffel.fr. Retrieved 24 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  4. "Chronology of the main construction periods" (in Template:Fr icon). Tour-eiffel.fr. Retrieved 24 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  5. ^ "A few statistics" (in Template:Fr icon). Tour-eiffel.fr. Retrieved 24 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  6. "Dictionary of technical terms" (in Template:Fr icon). Tour-eiffel.fr. Retrieved 24 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  7. Template:Fr icon http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/documentation/pdf/about_the%20Eiffel_Tower.pdf?id=4_11
  8. "The Tower Operating Company" (in Template:Fr icon). Tour-eiffel.fr. Retrieved 24 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  9. "The Industrial Maintenance of the Tower" (in Template:Fr icon). Tour-eiffel.fr. Retrieved 24 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  10. "The Eiffel Tower as a World monument" (in Template:Fr icon). Tour-eiffel.fr. 2 April 1996. Retrieved 24 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  11. Harvie 2006 pp,122–3
  12. Harvie2004 p.144-5
  13. Tuchman, Barbara August 1914 London, Macmillan, 1980 p.236
  14. Wulf, Theodor. Physikalische Zeitschrift, contains results of the four-day long observation done by Theodor Wulf while at the top of the Eiffel Tower in 1910.
  15. Letcher, Piers (2003). Eccentric France. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-84162-068-8.
  16. "An air tragedy". The Sunday Times. 28 February 1926.
  17. "Charles Lindbergh & the First Solo Transatlantic Flight". Space.com. 20 July 2012.
  18. "Link to film showing raising of swastika on Eiffel tower". Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  19. "A Bonanza in Paris". Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  20. "Extreme bid to stretch bungy record – World". Sydney Morning Herald. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  21. "Eiffel Tower". 21 October 1991. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  22. "All You Need To Know About the Eiffel Tower" (PDF). Official Site. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  23. "The Eiffel Tower: Paris' Grande Dame". france.com. Retrieved 24 July 2007.
  24. "Soirée réussie le 28 novembre pour fêter l'année du 200 millionième visiteur". Official Site (in French). 2002. Retrieved 24 July 2007.
  25. Porter, Darwin (2006). Frommer's Europe. 9th ed. Frommer's. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-471-92265-0. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  26. According to Société nouvelle d'exploitation de la tour eiffel
  27. Translated from the French newspaper Le Temps of 14 February 1887. Extrait de la réponse d'Eiffel
  28. ^ "Elegant Shape Of Eiffel Tower Solved Mathematically By University Of Colorado Professor". Sciencedaily.com. 7 January 2005. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  29. ^ "The Virginia Engineer: Correct Theory Explaining The Eiffel Tower's Design Revealed". Vaeng.com. 31 January 2005. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  30. Harvie 2006, p127
  31. "Painting the Eiffel Tower". tour-eiffel.com. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  32. "Corus in construction – Exhibition buildings". Corusconstruction.com. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  33. "The annotated arch: a crash course in the history of architecture, By Carol Strickland, Amy Handy". Google. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  34. "Space, time and architecture: the growth of a new tradition, By Sigfried Giedion – Google Books". Google. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  35. "Number of visitors since 1889" (in Template:Fr icon). Tour-eiffel.fr. Retrieved 24 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  36. "Tour Eiffel et souvenirs de Paris". Le Monde. France. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  37. "The construction of the Eiffel Tower" (in Template:Fr icon). Tour-eiffel.fr. Retrieved 24 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  38. Société nouvelle d'exploitation de la tour Eiffel
  39. Fawcett, Karen. "Paris France Guide: Paris Hotels, Food, Wine and Discounts – The Eiffel Tower Breaking News". Bonjourparis.com. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  40. "Mayor Jean Drapeau aims for an Expo 67 tower". CBC. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  41. Auf der Mar, Nick (15 September 1980). "How this city nearly got the Eiffel Tower". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  42. "Paris Time By Wireless", New York Times, 22 November 1913, pg 1.
  43. Cass. 1re civ., 3 March 1992, RIDA 1994 no. 159, p.113.
  44. "Statement that publishing pictures of the lighting requires permission". Retrieved 1 September February 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  45. "Eiffel Tower: Repossessed". Blog.fastcompany.com. 2 February 2005. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  46. E.g., "La représentation d'une œuvre située dans un lieu public n'est licite que lorsqu'elle est accessoire par rapport au sujet principal représenté ou traité"; Cass. 1re civ. 4 juillet 1995. Christophe Caron, Droit d'auteur et droits voisins, Litec, 2006, §365.
  47. "Inanimate attachment: Love objects". Globe and Mail. Canada. 21 August 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2010.

Further reading

  • 1889: La Tour Eiffel et L’Exposition Universelle Paris: Editions de la Reunion des Musees Nationaux, 1989 .
  • Chanson, Hubert (2009). Hydraulic Engineering Legends Listed on the Eiffel Tower, Great Rivers History, ASCE-EWRI Publication, Proceedings of the History Symposium of the World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2009, Kansas City, USA, 17–19 May, J.R. ROGERS Ed., pp. 1–7 (ISBN 978-0-7844-1032-5)
  • Frémy, Dominique, Quid de la Tour Eiffel, Robert Lafont, Paris (1989) – out of print
  • The Engineer: The Paris Exhibition, 3 May 1889 (Vol. XLVII). London: Office for Advertisements and Publication.
  • Jonnes, Jill. Eiffel's Tower Viking, 2009
  • Harvie, David I Eiffel: The Genius Who Reinvented Himself Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton, 2006 ISBN 0-7509-3309-7
  • Loyrette, Henri Gustave Eiffel New York: Rizzoli, 1985. ISBN 0-8478-0631-6
  • Watson, William. Paris Universal Exposition: Civil Engineering, Public Works, and Architecture. Washington : Government Printing Office, 1892.

External links

Records
Preceded byWashington Monument World's tallest structure
1889—1931
300.24m
Succeeded byChrysler Building
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