Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower
La Tour Eiffel
The Eiffel Tower as seen from the Champ de Mars
Record height
Tallest in the world from 1889 to 1930
General information
Type	Observation tower, Radio broadcasting tower
Location	Paris, France
Coordinates	48.8583°N 2.2945°E / 48.8583; 2.2945
Construction started	1887
Completed	1889
Opening	31 March 1889
Height
Antenna spire	324.00 m (1,063 ft)
Roof	300.65 m (986 ft)
Top floor	273.00 m (896 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	3
Elevators	9
Design and construction
Owner	City of Paris, France
Management	Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE)
Main contractor	Compagnie des Etablissements Eiffel
Architect	Stephen Sauvestre
Structural engineer	Maurice Koechlin, Émile Nouguier
References

The stars of the European Union for the tower

The Eiffel Tower (French: La Tour Eiffel, [tuʁ ɛfɛl], IPA pronunciation: "EYE-full" English; "eh-FEHL" French) is a famous landmark in Paris. It was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for a fair called the Exposition Universelle. It cost £35million to build. It is 300 metres tall, but this height does not include the 24 m aerial (antenna) on the top; the total height of the structure is 324 m (1058 feet). There are also 1,665 steps inside the Eiffel Tower. It weighs 10,000 tons. It consists of 18,038 pieces and 2 1/2 million rivets. There are 20,000 sparkling lights and 80 kilometers of cables covering the structure. The weight of paint used is 60 tons, and the surface to be painted - 250,000 m2. The paper used to print the visitor's tickets in a year weighs 2 tons.

History

The Eiffel Tower was built by Gustave Eiffel for the 100th year of the French freedom. There were 107 bids submitted to construct the Eiffel Tower, 50 people worked on the design, and more than 100 built the parts. 132 workers assembled the parts on site. At first, the Eiffel Tower was to be made in Barcelona, Spain, but the people of Barcelona did not want it. Construction began on January 28, 1887 and was concluded on March 31, 1889. When the tower was built, it was only meant to be kept for 20 years. People did not like the Eiffel Tower and wanted it taken down. After the 20 years, the tower became the property of Paris again. By this time, the city had learned that the tower could be used to help with communications. The military used the tower to communicate during battle.The tower was used in the capture of the spy, "Mata Hari". Nobody wanted it to be taken apart.

Other websites

• Eiffel Tower official website
• Eiffel Tower photos - free pictures
• Several videos of the Eiffel Tower
• Eiffel Tower A simple story for the amazing Eiffel Tower
• Eiffel Tower plans and stages of construction