Parais Belle Epoque,LA TOUR EIFFEL anglais
THE EIFFFEL TOWER
The Eiffel tower is neither a royal palace nor a house of god. Yet this gigantic bridge pier erected for the duration of an exhibition ahs very rapidly become Paris and France’s most frequented monument.
In 1877, the republican majority decided to organise an International Exposition for the year 1879.
The idea was to efface the memory of the defeat of the 1871 war against Prussia, but with only one short year to prepare it, its success was mediocre, and by the end of the 1878 Exhibition, a celebration of great fanfare for the centenary of the French Revolution was promised.
Emile Nougiera (44 years old) and Maurice Koechlin (28 years old): two engineers working for the company owned by Mr. Gustav Eiffel, decided to work on a design of a tower for the 1889 exposition.
The 6th of June 1884, Nogueira and Koechlin signed a conceptual sketch, showing a 300 metre-high pier for the exposition of 1889. Eiffel was less than enthusiastic, leaving them free to pursue the study without him.
The 18 of September 1884, a patent was deposited under the names of Gustav Eiffel, Emile Noguiera and Maurice Koechlin, for a novel arrangement to permit the construction of metal piers and pylons to a height capable of exceeding 300 metres.
The 12th December 1884, Eiffel signed a contract with Noguiera and Koechlin establishing terms on which he committed himself, in exchange for their patent rights, to cite their names in perpetuity and to pay 1 % due on the preliminary estimated, approved by the General direction of the Exposition.
The 2nd of may 1886, a competition was launched for the design of a, iron tower. Competitor should study the possibility of raising on the Champs-de-Mars a 300 metre-high iron tower with a square base, 125 metres on each side.
There were awarded 12 of the 107 proposal received, the largest prize was 4000 francs, going to Eiffel, Dutter and Formigé.
The 8th of January 1887, Eiffel was commissioned to construct the tower and to rend it serviceable on the opening day of the exposition.
Eiffel received a 1,500 000 franc grant and authorisation to exploit the tower during the entire exposition on the condition that;
· Price would not exceed 2 francs to get to the 1st floor
· 5 francs to the 3rd floor
· Prices dropping to 1 franc on Sundays
His concession was prolonged for 20 years, beginning on the 1st of January 1880
Construction
· Pier foundations are 15metre deep
· 4 solid masonry blocks are located above the pier foundations
· The assemblage began on the 1st of July 1887, and was pursued during exactly 21 months with a crew of 150 workers in average, slightly increased to 200 in the last weeks.
· Duration of work: 9 hours per day during winter, and 13 during summer, with no allowance for weekly rest or annual holidays.
Strike
On September the 17th 1888, the construction was sopped by the worker who demanded:
· A uniform
· An increase of 20 cents per hour for the MOUSSES, boys apprentices paied 45 cent per hour
· An increase of 20 cents per hour for the carpenters
The 21st of September an increase of 5 cents per hour was accorded, as well as a 100 franc bonus once the 3rd platform was set in place.
***** The agreement was not respected!!
Organisation of the work
For the firm’s credit, there were no fatal accidents during work hours.
· At the Champ-de-Mars, all pieces arrived numbered, ready for the use, and partially pre-assembled.
· The 18000 iron sections were assembled with 2,500 000 rivets
The inauguration took place the 31st of March 1889.
After climbing the 1710 steps, Gustav Eiffel raised the flag and the banner offered by the workers.
The lifts
The first French lift was presented by Léon Edoux at the Universal Exposition of 1867.
The construction of lifts for the Eiffel Tower posed problems because of its height and pier inclination.
A call for tender put three companies and 3 systems into competition:
1 Roux, Constructed two inclined lifts called “articulated pistons”, linking the ground to the 1st floor within the east and the west piers. Capacity: 90 persons at a speed of 60 metres/minute. They were replaced in 1900 by electric lifts.
2 Otis, Installed lifts in the north and south piers to serve the second floor with traction via Pulley-block cables and hydraulic press. Capacity: 42 persons at a speed of 120 metres/minute.
3 Edoux, Guaranteed transport from the 2nd to the 3rd floor with two equilibrated cars. Capacity: 65 persons at a speed of 54 metres/minute.
The tower after 1889
Science and communication
1889: an observatory was installed
1903: Eiffel installed a laboratory on the 2nd floor platform, for various experiments: gravity, air resistance, etc.
1909: construction of an aerodynamic ventilating fan at the foot of the tower, to experiment with air planners and dirigibles.
Experiments with wireless communication on the 3rd floor.
1914-1918: use of the tower for the wireless telegraph.
1921: First radio transmission diffused from the tower
1949: a television daily journal was diffused
1957: installation of an antenna (20.75 m)
1900-1914: each day at noon, a canon marked the hour for Parisians
2000: a new antenna was installed (24m)
Changes to the tower
1937: modernisation of the 1st and 2nd floors, making way for panoramic restaurants (altitude 95)
1982: Jules Verne restaurant
*** From one extension to the next, the society created by Eiffel in 1888, came to the end of its contract in 1979. The city of Paris didn’t renew its concession, and a new society was created: “Société Nouvelle d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel”.
· 60 % of the tower expenses go to maintenance, costs and personnel.
· 85 % of its revenues is assured by entry fees.
Tower Statistics
· Original height: 300.65m
· Height from 1957 to 2000: 320.57m
· Actual height: 324m
· 1st floor height: 57.63m surface area 4,200m
· 2nd floor height: 115.73m surface area 1,400m
· 3rd floor height: 276.13m surface area 350m
· Weight of the tower: 7,000 tons
· Weight with the foundations: 10,000 tons
· 50 tons of painting and 20,000 hours work are required to refurbish the iron structure.
· Duration of ground work (foundations and masonry): 5 months and 4 days
· Duration of assemblage: 339 days (21 months)
· Total duration of construction: 2 years, 2 months and 5 days
· 1665 steps
· 48 watch cameras