The Eiffel Tower is synonymous with Paris, and one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, let alone France. The Eiffel tower construction started on January 26th, 1887 and was completed in a mere two years, two months and five days. Quite the contrast to the 630 years to construct the Cologne Cathedral [Cologne Cathedral- Post #90].
The impetus for the Eiffel Tower and the speed by which it was constructed was in preparation for Paris hosting the World Fair of 1899.
These world fairs or expositions or great exhibitions were the brainchild of Queen Victoria’s husband. The concept was to focus on trade, advancements in architecture, science and technology, and present any new inventions. The Chicago World fair of 1893 was referenced in Karl Chronicle #45 - Hot Time in Chicago. After the Great Chicago fire of 1871, the plans were to rebuild a new urban centre with bigger businesses and buildings of innovative and bold design. The new architecture was showcased at the world fair when over 27 million visitors came to Chicago and the world was impressed. So much so that in 1899 with all eyes on Paris, something exceptional was needed.
The President of the exposition agreed that Paris needed a “clou” translated to “spike”, and invited designs for a structure made of iron with a square base 125 metres across and 300 metres tall. It was to be the tallest structure in the world.
Hundreds of plans with varying ideas were submitted in the competition. One design intended to pay homage to those who died in the revolution 100 years earlier was a 300-meter tower in the form of a guillotine! Fortunately for Paris and romantics everywhere, the winning design was a tower with open-lattice wrought iron by engineer Gustave Eiffel. The Eiffel Tower required five hundred labourers to assemble eighteen thousand pieces of iron in time for the world fair.
The records indicate that there were 12,000 visitors to the Eiffel Tower each day of the exposition, attracting more than 32 million visitors in 1889. Given the swift construction, some aspects, including the lifts to the top, were not complete at the beginning. Although they were completed shortly after, this was not a deterrent; visitors used the staircases, climbing the 1,710 steps to the top! The attraction was not only the Eiffel Tower but an opportunity to see the city of Paris from above. At this time, the Wright brothers had yet to have a successful airplane flight, so aerial views of Paris were not familiar.
Many of these structures serve as the attraction to an exposition but are subsequently dismantled. But Gustave Eiffel proposed that the tower be used for meteorological studies as an observatory for scientists. For ten years after the exposition, the Eiffel Tower was indeed a weather station, but in 1909 there was a decision to keep the Eiffel Tower permanently.
Since then, it’s been repainted 19 times. Generally, every seven years the paint colour has changed from reddish-brown to yellow-brown to brownish-red to the current “Eiffel Tower Brown”, a bronze tone in 3 shades, lightest at the top and darkest at the bottom.
It’s the most visited structure in the world, with over 300 million people having seen the Eiffel Tower since 1889. And sadly, dear reader, Karl was not one of them.
“The first French town I passed through was Givet, which was at the foot of a hill a few hundred yards over the border. It was getting late, and I thinking the customs house people would not see me, coasted down the hill right past the inspector’s office. He saw me all right, and shouted for me to stop. Of course I failed to hear him, but a policeman was at the foot of the hill heard him and I was captured and taken up to the custom house, when my wheel and luggage was examined, but found satisfactory, and then for a payment of one Franc (a fine, I suppose) I was allowed to pass. From this on I fell in with strong head winds, with heavy rain, making cycling awfully hard, 150 miles being the amount I covered in a whole week’s stead travelling. Getting tired of this, when within 100 miles of Paris, I suddenly turned at right angles to the Paris road and took a straight course for Dieppe.”
As we know, Karl’s plans changed continuously due to factors out of his control. For the most part, I think these changes didn’t detract from his journey, with some exceptions, Paris being one of them. I think Karl would have marvelled at the Eiffel Tower. I know this GlobeTrotter did and I’m sure many of my dear readers would concur.
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