When does the Eiffel Tower open to the public? The answer - today 126 years ago in preparation for the world fair. Gustave Eiffel, the entrepreneur, turned it into one big laboratory. The radio experiments saved the Eiffel Tower from its planned demolition in 1909
The end of the 19th century was the time when several inventions were developed that changed our lives, from the telephone to the car to the rabies vaccine. In those years, Jules Verne wrote his futuristic books, France built a colonial empire, trade flourished and the industrial revolution was in full force. Things moved, everything changed. The period, sometimes also known as "the spring of technology" was a period of creative agitation, the crown jewel of which was the "Great Iron Lady" of Eiffel. The structure in the shape of the letter A above the Champ de Mars symbolizes the beginning of the technological race that continues to this day that opened on March 31, 1889.
Gustave Eiffel was born on December 15, 1832 in Dijon. He completed his engineering studies with honors at the Ecole Centrale in Paris in 1855, the year Paris first hosted the World's Fair. During his professional career, Eiffel built dozens of buildings of different types around the world. At the beginning of his career, he served as a supervisor of construction work during the construction of the great railway bridge in Bordeaux. He then established himself as a building engineer specializing in metal work.
In 1875 he built the Maria Pia Bridge over the Douro River in Portugal, then the Garabit Bridge in central France (1876) and in 1884 the Pest Central Railway Station in Budapest. He was also responsible for the metal work at the Beaune Marche store and the headquarters of Credit Lyons Bank in Paris, built the observatory dome in Nice and above all he was responsible for the interior structure of the Statue of Liberty that the French gave to the Americans.
In 1886, three years before the World's Fair of 1889, a date that marks the centenary of the French Revolution, the journal Officiel published a competition whose purpose was to "investigate the possibility of erecting a tower over the Champ de Mars - the same area where the World's Fair of 1867 was previously held and where the fair will be held in the future the world of 1900.
As part of the competition rules, it was determined that its base would be a square with the length of each side 125 meters and that its height would be 300 meters. The proposal submitted by Eiffel, engineers Maurice Kischlin and Amelie Noguier, and architect Stefan Subsar was selected from 107 proposals.
The fair took place between May 6 and October 31, 1889. It marked the centenary of the storming of the Bastille, an event that marked the beginning of the French Revolution.
The Eiffel Tower served as the entrance arch to the fair. Since the elevators were not yet completed when the fair opened, the first visitors had to walk up to the second floor. Workers worked day and night before the opening of the fair to complete the construction necessary to safely climb the structure. In his speech before the dedicated workers, Salle, Gustave Eiffel's son-in-law, said, "No soldier on the battlefield deserves such a greater thanks than these humble labors. History will commemorate them.
The construction was accompanied by loud protests. On February 14, 1887, "Le Temp" published a petition entitled "Personalities from the world of art and writing protesting the construction of a building 300 meters high above the Champ de Mars. Gustave Eiffel fought tooth and nail over the project, but the public debate only heated up. Some of these individuals later changed their minds.
The Eiffel Tower was the last structure he built. The final chord of the career was precisely on the other side of the world - the Panama Canal. The construction of the canal for the entrepreneur Ferdinand de Laspas (who also dug the Suez Canal). It was the biggest project he won. Considering the risks, he was able to obtain financing and collateral, which allowed him to receive the profits once the work began. Despite Eiffel's dedication to the project, the bankruptcy of the canal construction company on February 4, 1889 saw him prosecuted for fraud along with de Laspas and his son and sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 2,000 francs. The Court of Appeal overturned the sentence, but despite this, Eiffel decided to withdraw from the construction business.
The contribution of the man Eiffel and the Eiffel Tower to science
Since Eiffel submitted his proposal in 1886, Gustave Eiffel knew that the tower's scientific service could protect it from its critics and extend its (the tower's) life. It was initially planned to operate for twenty years and be destroyed after that. To prevent this, Eiffel found uses - meteorological and astronomical observations, experiments in physics and in particular aerodynamics, a strategic observation post, a base station for signals, a lighthouse with electric light and wind research. "The tower will serve as an observatory and a laboratory that has not existed so far for these sciences. This is why, from the first day, the scientists encouraged me with warm feelings." In fact, from 1889 onwards, the Eiffel Tower was used as a laboratory for scientific measurements and experiments. He saw to the installation of scientific equipment (barometers, anemometers, lightning detectors). Eiffel also built himself an office on the third floor that was used for astronomical observations. In 1909 he even built a wind tunnel at the foot of the tower.
The Eiffel Tower hosted the first experiments in radio technology and played an important role in the early days of French television. Gustave Eiffel encouraged scientists to conduct research in the field of radio transmissions and use the tower as a giant antenna. The tower head has undergone changes over the years to compensate for the large number of antennas. Today there are several dozen different antennas on it, including a large antenna for TV broadcasts that rises to a height of 324 meters thanks to the tower.
The first experiments with television transmissions from the tower date back to 1925 and the first regular transmission began in 1935.
Due to Eiffel's radio experiments, the Eiffel Tower still stands today, even though it was planned to exist for example only twenty years.
Gustave Eiffel's scientific career lasted about 30 years. He died on December 27, 1923 at the age of 91.
The Eiffel Tower during the Nazi regime
After the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940, the French cut the elevator cables. The tower was closed to the public during the Nazi occupation and the elevator was repaired only in 1946. On the first day of the occupation, Nazi soldiers had to climb the tower to hoist the flag of Nazi Germany on it, but the flag was so large and heavy that it tore and flew in the wind a few hours later. It was replaced by a smaller flag.
The center of Paris, including the Eiffel Tower, remained almost unscathed during World War II, because it had no strategic targets for bombing and due to the refusal of the German commander of Paris, General Dietrich von Koltitz, to fulfill Hitler's order (from August 23, 1944) to turn Paris to a pile of ruins before the German surrender. (The entry Paris in Wikipedia)
On August 24, 1944, the tricolor flag was hoisted over the Eiffel Tower as a symbol of the liberation of Paris. It consisted of three sheets sewn together.
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Very interesting, great write-up, thanks for the information 🙂
very interesting. Very informative. I think the part of the Nazis is unnecessary.