Eiffel Tower Sparkle : How the Iron Lady won the hearts of the French !

The magnificent ‘Iron Lady’ – that’s how the French lovingly call the Eiffel Tower – appeared before the public on 31 March 1889. For its time, it was an absolute record-breaker in terms of height, rising more than 300 meters. 

Today, the Eiffel Tower sparkle is a favorite and recognisable symbol of Paris. But, the inhabitants of the French capital recognised it not immediately. The appearance of the legendary beauty made a lot of noise. And yet, having become a symbol of innovation, it was eventually saved by them. Radio broadcasting came to the tower’s rescue. 

Where does the Eiffel Tower ‘get its roots’?

Where does the Eiffel Tower ‘get its roots’?

The legendary symbol of Paris was built on the Champ de Mars especially for the 1889 international exhibition dedicated to the centenary of the French Revolution (1789-1794). According to the idea of the organizers, the grandiose architectural structure was to become a symbol of innovation and technological progress, which France achieved at the end of the 19th century. 

So, in 1884, the World Exhibition was planned to be held in Paris. Right at the entrance they planned to erect something extraordinary, which could strike the visitors by surprise. Several years before the exhibition, a large-scale competition was held. 

More than 700 projects were considered, 108 participants were chosen, but Eiffel’s idea won. By the way, the tower could have been named after Maurice Koechlin or Emile Nougier, who together with architect Stephan Sauvestrom actually came up with this marvellous metal construction. Well, history has ordered otherwise: these two talented engineers worked at the factory of Alexander Gustav Eiffel, who gave the name to their brainchild. Yet Eiffel was not just a successful capitalist, he was also an engineer known for other projects. In particular, he designed the Western Railway Station in Budapest. 

Eiffel became interested in the ambitious idea, he took his engineers’ idea and redesigned the concept, obtaining a patent with his employees. He later bought the exclusive rights to the tower design. Incidentally, Eiffel referred to his brainchild simply as the ‘300 metre tower’.  Don’t miss to visit the Eiffel Tower for your next travel to France.

What was the Eiffel Tower built out of?

The tower is made of pudding iron from the Pompe factory, not steel. The parts were assembled in Levallois-Perret and then transported from there to the construction site. Thanks to this system, the tower was built in a record two years and two months. 

When erecting the world’s tallest structure, the wind had to be taken into account. The design and shape of the tower was largely determined by wind load calculations. During even stormy winds, the tower’s deflection does not exceed only 15 cm. 

The Eiffel Tower consists of 4 floors. The bottom floor looks like a pyramid, the sides of which are four columns. At a height of 57 m these columns are connected by an arch, on top of which the first and widest platform of the iron construction is located. 

On the first platform, in turn, rises the second pyramidal part of the tower, which ends with the second platform (115 m). Then comes the third pyramidal column and the third platform (276 m), on which rises the lighthouse, and at a height of 300 metres there is another small platform. This structure can be reached not only by stairs but also by lifts. 

The stability of the tower is achieved thanks to a strong caisson-type foundation, as well as a special design that is resistant to strong winds. 

The tower weighs 10,000 tonnes, with the frame alone weighing 7.3 tonnes. The layer of paint protecting the structure from rust weighs about 60 tonnes. The top can be reached by stairs and lifts. The height of the iron wonder has changed over time. Initially the tower was 300 metres high, but over time it reached 330 metres. The height was added by the antenna installed on the top. The structure of the tower includes 18038 individual parts assembled on 2.5 million rivets. 

How did the workers manage to build the Eiffel Tower in a short time?

In order to build such a grandiose structure, it was necessary first of all to think about making it ‘stand on its own two feet’. In 1884, preparatory work began on the banks of the Seine, but the foundations did not appear until 1887. First, 4 pits 7 metres deep were dug. They were filled with concrete and stone blocks were placed on top to provide additional stability. Already at this stage, innovative methods of concreting and strengthening were used, which had proved successful in bridge construction. 

After the foundation was laid, the first level of the tower had to be erected. It was assembled using 12 wooden scaffolds. Each was 30 metres high. Another 4 scaffolds were 40 metres high. 

Scaffolding and steam cranes were used to lift the 18,000 pieces to the top and continue construction. As they travelled upwards, they were mounted on the tower itself, constantly being moved higher and higher. 

The legendary Iron Lady was erected in record time (5 months for the foundations and 21 months for the metalwork). This was possible largely due to the use of technical innovations. Hydraulic lifts, mobile cranes were actively used, which were moved along the rails of the future lifts. Elements were assembled on the ground and whole sections were lifted with the help of cranes. 

The Eiffel Tower grew at a rate of about 15 metres per month. The construction of such an object required not only an extraordinary approach, innovation, but also the willingness to solve completely new problems.

A major challenge was the giant inclined supports on which the tower’s first platform rested. To build it, scaffolding was used to hold it up, metal containers filled with sand to help set the exact angle of the structure, and hydraulic lifts to precisely adjust the position of the supports. 

One of the main challenges the engineers worked with was wind loading, as well as deflections due to uneven heating of the structure. But the calculations were done so accurately that these were not critical. 

Thanks to detailed parts drawings (the project included 5,300 drawings), all parts were produced neatly and accurately. In addition, many subassemblies were assembled on the ground and then the finished pieces were lifted and assembled. This approach seriously accelerated the assembly process.

What awaited the Eiffel Tower after its opening?

However, the problems were not only of a technical nature. The project was immediately attacked by sceptics and detractors, of which there were plenty. Great figures of French culture protested almost en masse against this construction. Guy de Maupassant, Dumas the Younger and other major cultural figures (more than 300 famous people signed their signatures) actively protested against its construction. They publicly condemned Eiffel’s brainchild in their petition, calling it ‘monstrous’ and ‘useless’. It went so far as to equate this creepy ‘bolted column’ to the Tower of Babel from the Bible. 

The criticism was mainly directed at the strength of the construction, the excessive pomposity of the structure, as well as the high cost of the object (the erection of the tower cost 7.8 million francs). 

The creation and construction of the Eiffel Tower is a real engineering feat, which was brilliantly realised despite the complexity of the installation and the need for new approaches. Especially interesting is the fact that there were no fatal accidents during the construction process. This speaks of the high level of organisation of the work, which was directly supervised by Eiffel himself. 

The opening of the Eiffel Tower changed the look of Paris forever and took place on 31 March 1889. During the celebration, Gustave Eiffel placed the flag of France on the top, and the admiring public finally saw the new wonder of the modern world in all its glory. Thus began a new era for France – the era of the Eiffel Tower. 

The fact that the tower was almost completely paid off during the World Exhibition (from 6 May to 31 October 1889) speaks volumes about how the French met their new toy. And then continued to bring Eiffel’s company a solid income. The success was amazing and resounding like a coin flying into the controller’s coffers. 

What awaited the Eiffel Tower after the international exhibition? 

When the concession expired in 1909, the Eiffel Tower was to be either dismantled or moved to a new location. But the age of radio had arrived, the tower was used for experiments with wireless telegraphy, and in 1906 a permanent radio station was built on it, initially to serve military needs. But then it became clear that Paris needed the tower. 

In 1921, a historic event took place – the first public radio broadcast from the Eiffel Tower. This was the beginning of widespread radio broadcasting. Then television broadcasting began in 1935. Since 1957, a TV tower has been located on the tower. It was she who changed the height of the ‘Iron Lady’ to almost 330 metres. 

The lighting of the Eiffel Tower is a separate kind of art. The first lights on the Eiffel Tower were gas lights. They were lit on the day of its opening. In 1889, the tower was illuminated by 10,000 gas-powered lanterns and two searchlights. The top was a lighthouse that illuminated the surroundings with the colours of the national flag. Already in 1900 the ‘Iron Lady’ was dressed in electric light for the first time. And the modern golden glow flashed on it for the first time on 31 December 1985. And in 2003, 20 thousand new bulbs were installed on the Eiffel Tower, shimmering with fabulous silver lights. 

To protect the French favourite from corrosion, every 7 years it has to be painted. It takes almost 60 tonnes of paint to cover the tower. Eiffel thought it should be red, but in XX it was yellow-brown and red-brown. There is also a special patented colour that has entered the lives of Parisians since 1968 – ‘Eiffel brown’.

How did the Eiffel Tower make itself known in the media space?

The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of France and Paris, known to everyone on Earth. Embodying the triumph of progress and engineering genius, it has taken a firm place in the lives of the French. The construction of this masterpiece changed the perception of the possibilities of construction, engineering and architecture in many ways. It was a revolutionary project that expanded the possibilities of architecture by combining it with creative engineering thought. =

Far beyond stepped the fame of the Iron Lady. Centuries later, she continues to be a part of the world’s heritage. The tower is immortalised in countless paintings by artists, sung in poems and songs, depicted in hundreds of films. If a film is shot in Paris, the Eiffel Tower is sure to appear in one of the frames. And what films, even a trendy TV series can’t do without it. For example, in ‘Gossip Girl’ the heroines like to walk past the tower.  Even Russian cinema is not without the iron beauty. She, for example, became the background for the picnic of the heroes in the film ‘Kitchen in Paris’. 

And, of course, the tower is captured on an endless number of professional and amateur photos. Tourists from all over the world take thousands of photos with Eiffel’s creation every day. 

The ambitious project of talented French engineers became the embodiment of the romantic aspiration of man to the heights of progress. The tower is deservedly one of the greatest monuments of architecture and engineering. For more than 40 years it remained the tallest structure in the world, striking the imagination not only of its contemporaries, but also of their descendants. 

Despite all efforts to preserve this architectural marvel, time makes its own adjustments. After all, the Iron Lady is no longer so young. It has been reported that the structure is rusting and serious restoration measures need to be taken. But the SETE management company dismisses all attacks, claiming that the metal has been preserved in perfect condition. On the eve of the 2024 Olympics, the Eiffel Tower workers’ union went on strike and stopped work for several days in protest. After all, they have to watch the tower rust every day, and due to insufficiently thought-out infrastructure people have to wait in queues sometimes up to 3 hours to see this masterpiece. In the end, it was decided to invest €380 million in the maintenance of the tower. 

More than a century later, the Eiffel Tower continues to be a legendary icon of engineering genius, a significant milestone in human progress captured in metal. And even after a century, the pioneering spirit still hovers among the iron girders, inspiring people to take on grandiose projects and achievements.