Facts about the Eiffel Tower

It is highly unlikely that you will come across someone who needs an introduction to the Eiffel Tower, in Paris. Although it is impossible to imagine the city of Paris without the Eiffel tower today, it was widely criticized when it was built back in 1880s. In fact, people - including some prominent names from the art community of Paris, went to the extent of calling it an 'eyesore' and a 'black blot' on the picturesque landscape of the city. Today however, this tower located at Champ de Mars has become a global icon of Paris and France, and its popularity among tourists and in pop-culture speaks in volumes about it.

Why was the Eiffel Tower Built?

The Eiffel Tower was built as the entrance arch for the 1889 World Fair - Exposition Universelle, which marked the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. It was said to be the 'symbol of our achievements in the field of science and engineering'. Out of a number of designs submitted as part of a competition, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel won, and was responsible for the construction of the Eiffel Tower. It was a temporary structure with a permit of 20 years, after which it was to be demolished - and that nearly happened in 1909. Had it not been for its use as a telecommunication tower, the Eiffel Tower would have had been long gone!

Eiffel Tower Facts

Even though it is one of the best known monuments worldwide, some interesting facts about the Eiffel Tower are not known to many. These facts range from some unbelievable ones - like 9441 tons of wrought iron was used to build it, to some bizarre ones - like a con artist sold it as scrap on two occasions. Following are a few important facts about La Tour Eiffel which show how this monument, which was supposed to be an exhibit at the 1889 World Fair, became the global icon of France.

Construction of the Eiffel Tower began on January 26, 1887, and was eventually completed on March 31, 1889. It took 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days, for the 300 workers involved, to complete the Eiffel Tower.	Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (the person who had created the internal frame of the Statue of Liberty in 1885) was the main architect and contractor, Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier were the main engineers, Stephen Sauvestre was the main architect, while Jean Compagnon handled the construction of the Eiffel Tower.	The Eiffel Tower stands 324 meters tall, inclusive of the 24 m antenna, and weighs 7,300 tons. With that height, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world when it was built - and continued to be so until 1930.
The Eiffel Tower was built using 9441 tons of wrought iron (puddle iron) of the highest quality. A total of 18038 pieces of wrought iron were joined together to create it. The base of the Eiffel Tower covers a square area of 100 m.		The Eiffel Tower is painted every 7 years, in 3 shades of brown with darkest shade at the bottom. Approximately 60 tons of paint is required to paint it. Even today the Eiffel Tower is painted using mere brushes.
The Eiffel Tower has a total of 1710 steps to the third level small platform at the top, 674 steps to the second level, and 347 steps to the first level, all counted from the ground.		The names of 72 prominent French scientists and famous personalities are affixed on the sides of Eiffel Tower just beneath the first platform, 18 names per side.
The Eiffel Tower belongs to the city of Paris, and is given on a renewable contract to a limited company named Societe d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel.		In clear weather, which is seldom seen nowadays, you can see approximately 42 miles from the top of the Eiffel Tower. During gusty winds, the Eiffel Tower sways up to 15 cm at its summit.
Due to the height of this structure and gusty winds, the chances of accident during the construction of Eiffel Tower were high, but precautionary measures ensured that there were no accident-related deaths in course of construction. The only death reported when the Eiffel Tower was being built occurred outside the working hours.		The temporary relocation of the Eiffel Tower to Montreal, wherein it was to be used as a landmark and tourist attraction during 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, was attempted in 1960s. However, the company which was in charge of operations ruled out this move out of the fear that the French administration may deny them the permission to restore it to its original place.
You can use the steps or elevator to reach the top, but these stairs are only available till the second platform, and the third platform is accessible only via elevators. Even people on wheelchair can visit the Eiffel Tower using the elevator.	Victor Lustig, a con artist notorious for his scams all over the world, posed as the deputy director-general of the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs, and sold the Eiffel Tower to scrap dealer - Andre Poisson, citing that the city could not afford the maintenance of this structure anymore. Lustig is widely known as 'The man who sold the Eiffel Tower. Twice.', today.	The Eiffel Tower has got restaurants on the first and second platforms. The restaurant on the first platform is 'Altitude 95' and faces the river Seine. The restaurant on the second platform is named 'Jules Verne' (prior booking is a must in this restaurant).

Over 200 million people have visited the Eiffel Tower since its inception, with the 200,000,000th visitor visiting this monument on November 28, 2002. Other than the tourists, the Eiffel Tower has also attracted daredevils from across the globe. It has been scaled by mountaineers, used as a platform for bungee jumping and parachuting.... and some have even gone to the extent of using it as a platform for cycling and rollerblading stunts.

All these facts speak in volumes about the legend of Eiffel Tower - a structure which stands tall as a witness to the two world wars. It is virtually impossible to believe that this is the same wrought iron tower which was criticized by artists and environmentalists alike. Nor is it possible to believe that it was nearly brought down to be sold as scrap. If the authorities had given in to these sentiments back then, the history of world architecture would have had missed out on one of its most important chapter - the Eiffel Tower.