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About this data sheet:
Structure-ID: s0000021
Created on: 29/10/98
Modified on: 14/08/09


Eiffel Tower

Tour Eiffel, Tour de 300 mètres
Built: 1887 - 1889
Duration of works: 2 years 2 months 5 days
Status: in use
Address: Champs de Mars
Location: 7th arrondissment, Paris, Ile de France, France
Geographic
Coordinates: 
48°51'29" North
002°17'40" East
Eiffel Tower
Click on the image to enlarge it.
There is a total of 162 images.
Structural Type:
Steel truss tower (free standing)
Function / usage:
Communications tower
Part of: World Exposition 1889

Persons involved with this structure
Legend: Phase of works
RoleNamePart of structure 
Builder Gustave Alexandre Eiffel
Architect Charles Léon Stephen Sauvestre
Engineer Maurice Koechlin
  Emile Nouguier
Lighting installation (1986)
Lighting design Pierre Bideau

Firms, offices, etc. involved with this structure
Legend: Phase of works
RoleNamePart of structure 
Construction Eiffel et Cie
Lighting installation (-1986)
Lighting design C.I.E.L.

Technical information
DescriptionValue
Construction materials used
tower  wrought iron
foundations  reinforced concrete
Dimensions
  height 300.65 m
  height to antenna 320.75 m (1957)
324.00 m (2000)
  weight of tower structure 7 000 t
platform 1   height to platform 57.63 m
  surface 4 200 m2
platform 2   height to platform 115.73 m
  surface 1 400 m2
platform 3   height to platform 276.13 m
  surface 350 m2
Cost
  cost of construction FRF 7 400 000

Chronology
28 January 1887
Tower construction begins.
30 January 1887
The foundations are completed.
May 1887
Foundations completed
1 June 1887
Construction of piers begins
1 July 1887
The assembly of the tower begins.
29 April 1888
Joining of the four legs of the tower at the level of the first platform.
30 March 1889
The assembly of the tower is completed.
31 March 1889
Gustave Eiffel climbs the 1710 steps of the tower.
1 January 1890
The concession is extended by 20 years.
1906
The tower is used as a telegraph relay station with an emitting radius of 3000 km.
1957
An antenna is added, increasing the total height of the tower to above 320 meters.
August 2000
The addition of new antennas brings the total height to 324 meters.
22 July 2003, 19:21
An electrical fire erupts in the 4th level above the topmost viewing platform causing only minor damage. The tower is evacuated, but reopens the following day.

Notes & Comments
The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 Universal Exposition (World's Fair) and for the centennial of the French Revolution. Gustave Eiffel, referred to this structure as the 300-Meter Tower, the name "Eiffel Tower" was given by the Parisian critics who were against it and the name has stuck ever since.
In 1889 the elevators were provided by Roux, Combaluzier et Lepape between the ground and 1st platform (located in the east and west legs); Otis built the elevators in the north and south legs serving between ground and second platform. Edoux provided elevators between the second and top platforms.
Cost of construction: 7 400 000 Francs
Fees collected during the world's fair of 1889: 6 500 000 Francs
Subsidy by the city of Paris: 1 500 000 Francs.
The construction took 2 years, 2 months and 5 days.
121 workers were necessary on site to assemble the tower, while 326 worked at the Eiffel factory.
18 000 different pieces were assembled using 2 500 000 rivets of which 1 050 846 were placed on-site.
During good weather periods, the view is as far as 60 kilometers to the north, 70 km to the West, 55 to the South and 65 to the East.

Relevant Web Sites
The following external links open in a new window. Structurae is not responsible for their content nor endorses it.
External LinkarchINFORM: Eiffel Tower English German French Spanish Italian
External LinkCATIA Architecture - Eiffel Tower Reconstruction Site English
External LinkEiffel Tower (Mary Ann Sullivan) English
External LinkGreat Buildings Online: Eiffel Tower English
External LinkGustave Eiffel: Tour Eiffel French
External LinkL'histoire par l'image: La construction de la Tour Eiffel French
External LinkLe Moniteur: Rétrospective: La tour Eiffel, du «lampadaire tragique» au «phare fantastique" French
External LinkMairie de Paris: Eiffel Tower English
External LinkMairie de Paris: La Tour Eiffel French
External LinkMathematicians commemorated on the Eiffel Tower English
External LinkOTUA: Les traitement de surface à la Tour Eiffel French
External LinkParis.org: Eiffel Tower English
External LinkParis.org: Tour Eiffel French
External LinkPBS: Building Big - Eiffel Tower English
External LinkTF1: Live Cam Tour Eiffel French
External LinkThe Eiffel Tower Reconstruction Web Site English
External LinkTour Eiffel Web Site English French
External LinkVitruvio: Eiffel Tower English
External LinkWikipédia: Tour Eiffel French
External LinkYahoo! Eiffel Tower English

Relevant Literature
* La Tour Eiffel, in "Ossature métallique", September 1937 v. 6 .
* Arnaud, Isabelle   La mise en lumière d'un monument se fait plus efficace, in "Le Moniteur des Travaux Publics et du Bâtiment", 24 September 2004, n. 5261 .
* Asensio, Paco   Gustave Alexandre Eiffel, teNeues, Düsseldorf (Germany) , ISBN 3823855409, 2003; pp. 70-77.
* Billington, David P.   The Tower and the Bridge, Princeton University Press, Princeton (USA) , ISBN 069102393X, 1983; pp. 11-17.
* Denker, Winnie   Der Eiffelturm - Le coeur de Paris, Ullstein, Frankfurt (Germany) , ISBN 3550065892.
* Dupré, Judith   Skyscrapers, Black Dog & Loventhal, New York (USA) , ISBN 1884822452, 1996; pp. 16-17.
* Dupré, Judith   Skyscrapers (2nd edition), Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc., New York (USA) , ISBN 1579127878, 2008; pp. 18-19.
* Eiffel, Gustave   La tour de trois cents mètres, Société des Imprimeries Le Mercier, Paris (France) , 1900.
* Eiffel, Gustave   La Tour Eiffel en 1900, Masson et Cie Editeurs, Librarie de l'Académie de Médecine, Paris (France) , 1902.
* Heinle, Erwin   Türme aller Zeiten - aller Kulturen (3rd edition), Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart (Germany) , ISBN 3421029318, 1997; pp. 214-218.
* Hoff, Robert   Meisterwerke der Ingenieurbaukunst, Bundesanzeiger Verlag, Cologne (Germany) , ISBN 3887848861, 1998; pp. 183-190.
* Kretschmer, Winfried   Geschichte der Weltausstellungen (1st edition), Campus-Verlag, Frankfurt (Germany) , ISBN 3593362732, 1999; pp. 124-126.
* Lemoine, Bertrand   Paris d'ingénieurs, Éditions du Pavillon de l'Arsenal, Paris (France) , ISBN 290751329X, 1995; pp. 152-3.
* Lemoine, Bertrand   La tour de 300 mètres, Taschen, Cologne (Germany) , ISBN 382284148X, 2006.
* Lemoine, Bertrand   La Tour de Monsieur Eiffel, Gallimard, Paris (France) , ISBN 2070530833.
* Lorin, P. A.   Travaux particuliers à la Tour Eiffel, in "Construction Métallique", 1972, n. 3 .
* Loyrette, Henri   Gustave Eiffel, Payot, Paris (France) , ISBN 2228001503, 1986; pp. 101-188.
* Margolius, Ivan   Architects + Engineers = Structures, Academy Editions, New York (USA) , ISBN 0471498254; pp. 31.
* Marrey, Bernard   Eiffel, Editions Adam Biro, Paris (France) , ISBN 2876600382, 1989.
* Marrey, Bernard   The extraordinary life and work of Monsieur Gustave Eiffel, the engineer who built the Statue of Liberty, the Porto Bridge, the Nice Observatory, the Garabit Viaduct, the Panama Locks, the Eiffel Tower, etc. (1st edition), Editions Graphite, Paris (France) , 1984.
* Marrey, Bernard   Familièrement inconnues... Architectures, Paris 1848-1914, Secrétariat d'Etat à la Culture, Paris (France) .
* Marrey, Bernard   Le fer à Paris (2nd edition), Éditions du Pavillon de l'Arsenal, Picard Editeur, Paris (France) , ISBN 2708405683, 1999; pp. 58.
* Marrey, Bernard   Gustave Eiffel (2nd edition), Institute, Paris (France) , ISBN 2907904000, 1989; pp. 102-105.
* Marrey, Bernard   La tour Eiffel, Editions du Patrimoine, Paris (France) , ISBN 2858226008, 2001.
* Marrey, Bernard   La tour Eiffel (Deutsch), Editions du Patrimoine, Paris (France) , ISBN 2858226237, 2001.
* Marrey, Bernard   La tour Eiffel (English), Editions du Patrimoine, Paris (France) , ISBN 2858226229, 2001.
* Marrey, Bernard   La tour Eiffel (español), Editions du Patrimoine, Paris (France) , ISBN 285822627X, 2001.
* Marrey, Bernard   La tour Eiffel (italiano), Editions du Patrimoine, Paris (France) , ISBN 2858226288, 2001.
* Marrey, Bernard   La tour Eiffel (Japanese), Editions du Patrimoine, Paris (France) , ISBN 2858226296, 2001.
* Marvillet, Jacques   La Tour Eiffel, presented at .
* Pérouse de Montclos, Jean-Marie   L'art de Paris, Editions Place des Victoires, Paris (France) , ISBN 2844590659, 2003.
* Pérouse de Montclos, Jean-Marie   Le guide du Patrimoine: Paris, Ministère de la Culture - Hachette, Paris (France) , ISBN 2010168127, 1994.
* Picon, Antoine   L'art de l'ingénieur, Éditions du Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (France) , ISBN 2858509115, 1997; pp. 163-166.
* Poncetton, François   Eiffel: Le Magicien du fer, Editions de la Tournelle, Paris (France) , 1939; pp. 153-222.
* Steiz, Frédéric   L'Exposition universelle de 1889, in Les expositions universelles à Paris de 1855 à 1937 ; pp. 119-125.
* Trautz, Martin   Maurice Koechlin, in "Deutsche Bauzeitung", April 2002, n. 4 v. 136 .
* Walbrach, K. F.   110 Jahre Eiffelturm, in "Bautechnik", August 1999, n. 8 v. 76 .
* Walbrach, K. F.   Ohne ihn gäbe es keinen Eiffelturm: Maurice Koechlin (1856-1946), in "Bautechnik", April 2006, n. 4 v. 83 .

 
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