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Eiffel Tower

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Modèle:Infobox Skyscraper The Eiffel Tower (Modèle:Lang-fr, Modèle:IPA) is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the River Seine in Paris. The tower has become a global icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world.

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Introduction

Image:Eiffel Tower 1945.jpg
Image of the Eiffel Tower taken shortly after the end of World War II, in June of 1945.

The Parisian landmark is the tallest structure in Paris and one of the most recognized structures in the world<ref>http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/documentation/chiffres/page/tour_monde.html</ref> and is named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel. Modèle:Formatnum:6719200 people visited the tower in 2006<ref>http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/documentation/structure/page/chiffres.html</ref> and more than Modèle:Formatnum:200000000 since its construction.<ref>http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/documentation/chiffres/page/frequentation.html</ref> This makes the tower the most visited paid monument in the world per year.<ref>http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3232,36-938349,0.html</ref> Including the 24 m (79 ft) antenna, the structure is 325 m (Modèle:Formatnum:1063 ft) high (since 2000), which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building.

When the tower was completed in 1889 it replaced the Washington Monument as the world's tallest structure — a title it retained until 1930 when New York City's Chrysler Building (319 m — Modèle:Formatnum:1047 ft tall) was completed.<ref name=ThinkQuest> ThinkQuest article on the Eiffel Tower


.</ref> The tower is now the fifth-tallest structure in France and the tallest structure in Paris, with the second-tallest being the Tour Montparnasse (210 m — 689 ft), although that will soon be surpassed by Tour AXA (Modèle:Formatnum:225.11 m — Modèle:Formatnum:738.36 ft).

The structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs Modèle:Formatnum:7300 tons. Depending on the ambient temperature the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7 in) due to thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun. The tower also sways 6-7 cm (2-3 in) in the wind.<ref>http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/documentation/structure/page/chiffres.html</ref>

The first and second levels are accessible by stairs and lifts. A ticket booth at the south tower base sells tickets to use the stairs which begin at that location. At the first platform the stairs continue up from the east tower and the third level summit is only accessible by lift. Once you are on the first or second platform the stairs are open for anyone to ascend or descend regardless of whether you have purchased a lift ticket or stair ticket. The actual count of stairs includes 9 steps to the ticket booth at the base, 328 steps to the first level, 340 steps to the second level and 18 steps to the lift platform on the second level. When exiting the lift at the third level 15 more steps exist to ascend to the upper observation platform. The step count is printed periodically on the side of the stairs to give an indication of progress. The majority of the ascent allows for an unhindered view of the area directly beneath and around the tower except during brief stretches of the stairway that are enclosed.

Maintenance of the tower includes applying 50 to 60 tons of paint every seven years to protect it from rust. In order to maintain a uniform appearance to an observer on the ground, three separate tones of paint are used on the tower, with the darkest tone on the bottom, and the lightest at the top. On occasion the colour of the paint is changed — the tower is currently painted a shade of brownish-grey. <ref>http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/documentation/dossiers/page/peinture.html</ref> On the first floor there are interactive consoles hosting a poll for the colour to use for a future session of painting. The co-architects of the Eiffel Tower are Emile Nouguier, Maurice Koechlin and Stephen Sauvestre.<ref>http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/documentation/dossiers/page/invention.html</ref>

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Background

Image:Tour Eiffel 1878.jpg
Eiffel Tower under construction in July 1888.

The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Eiffel originally planned to build it in Barcelona, for the Universal Exposition of 1888, but those responsible at the Barcelona city hall thought it was a strange construction, and expensive, which did not fit into the city. After the refusal of the Consistory of Barcelona, Eiffel submitted his draft to those responsible for the Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he would build a year later, in 1889. The tower was inaugurated on 31 March, 1889, and opened on 6 May. Three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron (a very pure form of structural iron), using two and a half million rivets, in a structural design by Maurice Koechlin. The risk of accident was great, for unlike modern skyscrapers the tower is an open frame without any intermediate floors except the two platforms. Yet because Eiffel took safety precautions including use of movable stagings, guard-rails and screens, only one man died.

The tower was met with resistance from the public when it was built, with many calling it an eyesore. (Novelist Guy de Maupassant — who claimed to hate the tower — supposedly ate lunch at the Tower's restaurant every day. When asked why, he answered that it was the one place in Paris where you couldn't see the Tower.) Today, it is widely considered to be a striking piece of structural art.

One of the great Hollywood movie clichés is that the view from a Parisian window always includes the tower. In reality, since zoning restrictions limit the height of most buildings in Paris to 7 stories, only the very few taller buildings have a clear view of the tower.

Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years, meaning it would have had to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiration of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne, and it therefore became a victory statue of that battle.

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Shape of the tower

Image:Eiffel Tower from base.JPG
Eiffel Tower from the base

At the time the tower was built many people were shocked by its daring shape. Gustave Eiffel was criticised for the design and accused of trying to create something artistic, or inartistic according to the viewer, without regard to engineering. Eiffel and his engineers, as renowned bridge builders however, understood the importance of wind forces and knew that if they were going to build the tallest structure in the world they had to be certain it would withstand the wind. In an interview reported in the newspaper Le Temps, Eiffel said:

Modèle:Cquote

The shape of the tower was therefore determined by mathematical calculation involving wind resistance. Several theories of this mathematical calculation have been proposed over the years, the most recent is a nonlinear integral differential equation based on counterbalancing the wind pressure on any point on the tower with the tension between the construction elements at that point. That shape is exponential.<ref>http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15835046</ref><ref>http://www.vaeng.com/news/correct-theory-explaining-the-eiffel-towers-design-revealed</ref>

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Installations

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the tower has been used for radio transmission. Until the 1950s, an occasionally modified set of antenna wires ran from the summit to anchors on the Avenue de Suffren and Champ de Mars. They were connected to long-wave transmitters in small bunkers; in 1909, a permanent underground radio centre was built near the south pillar and still exists today. On 20 November 1913 the Paris Observatory, using the Eiffel Tower as an antenna, exchanged sustained wireless signals with the United States Naval Observatory which used an antenna in Arlington, Virginia.

The object of the transmissions was to measure the difference in longitude between Paris and Washington, DC.<Ref>"Paris Time By Wireless," New York Times, 22 November 1913, pg 1.</Ref>

The tower has two restaurants: Altitude 95, on the first floor (95 m, 311 ft, above sea level); and the Jules Verne, an expensive gastronomical restaurant on the second floor, with a private lift. This restaurant has one star in the Michelin Red Guide. In January 2007 a new multi-Michelin star chef Alain Ducasse was brought in to run Jules Verne.<ref>

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Installations

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the tower has been used for radio transmission. Until the 1950s, an occasionally modified set of antenna wires ran from the summit to anchors on the Avenue de Suffren and Champ de Mars. They were connected to long-wave transmitters in small bunkers; in 1909, a permanent underground radio centre was built near the south pillar and still exists today. On 20 November 1913 the Paris Observatory, using the Eiffel Tower as an antenna, exchanged sustained wireless signals with the United States Naval Observatory which used an antenna in Arlington, Virginia.

The object of the transmissions was to measure the difference in longitude between Paris and Washington, DC.<Ref>"Paris Time By Wireless," New York Times, 22 November 1913, pg 1.</Ref>

The tower has two restaurants: Altitude 95, on the first floor (95 m, 311 ft, above sea level); and the Jules Verne, an expensive gastronomical restaurant on the second floor, with a private lift. This restaurant has one star in the Michelin Red Guide. In January 2007 a new multi-Michelin star chef Alain Ducasse was brought in to run Jules Verne.<ref>http://www.bonjourparis.com/Articles/Destination_Paris/The_Eiffel_Tower__Breaking_News/</ref>

The uppermost observation deck, with a height of 275 metres, is the highest area of an architectural structure in the European Union open for the public.

The passenger lifts from ground level to the first level are operated by cables and pulleys driven by massive water-powered pistons. As they ascend the inclined arc of the legs, the elevator cabins tilt slightly, but with a slight jolt, every few seconds in order to keep the floor nearly level. The elevator works are on display and open to the public in a small museum located in one of the four tower bases, and waiting queues are much shorter than those for the tower ascent.

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Events

Image:Lightning striking the Eiffel Tower - NOAA.jpg
Lightning strikes the Eiffel Tower on 3 June 1902, at 9:20 P.M
Image:Tour Eiffel Citroen.jpg
The Eiffel Tower served as an advertising space for Citroën from 1925 to 1934.
  • On 10 September 1889 Thomas Edison visited the tower. He signed the guestbook with the following message—Modèle:Cquote
  • In 1902, the tower was struck by lightning (see photo below). 100 m (330 ft) of the top had to be reconstructed and the damaged lights illuminating the tower had to be replaced.[citation needed]
  • Father Theodor Wulf in 1910 took observations of radiant energy radiating at the top and bottom of the tower, discovering at the top more than was expected, and thereby detecting what are today known as cosmic rays.[citation needed]
  • In 1925, the con artist Victor Lustig twice "sold" the tower for scrap metal.
  • In 1930, the tower lost the title of the world's tallest structure when the Chrysler Building was completed in New York City.
  • From 1925 to 1934, illuminated signs for Citroën adorned three of the tower's four sides, making it the tallest advertising space in the world at the time.
  • Upon the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940, the lift cables were cut by the French so that Adolf Hitler would have to climb the steps to the summit. The parts to repair them were allegedly impossible to obtain because of the war. In 1940 Nazi soldiers had to climb to the top to hoist the swastika, but the flag was so large it blew away just a few hours later, and it was replaced by a smaller one. When visiting Paris, Hitler chose to stay on the ground. It was said that Hitler conquered France, but did not conquer the Eiffel Tower. A Frenchman scaled the tower during the German occupation to hang the French flag. In August 1944, when the Allies were nearing Paris, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower along with the rest of the city. Von Choltitz disobeyed the order. The lifts of the Tower were working normally within hours of the Liberation of Paris.
  • On 3 January 1956, a fire damaged the top of the tower.
  • In 1957 the present radio antenna was added to the top.
  • In the 1980s an old restaurant and its supporting iron scaffolding midway up the tower was dismantled; it was purchased and reconstructed on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana by entrepreneurs John Onorio and Daniel Bonnot, originally as the Tour Eiffel Restaurant, known more recently as the Red Room. The restaurant was re-assembled from 11,000 pieces that crossed the Atlantic in a 40-foot cargo container.
  • In 1985's James Bond action/adventure film A View to a Kill, Sir Roger Moore as James Bond chases May Day played by actress Grace Jones at the Eiffel Tower. She parachuted from the tower. The video of the film's theme, performed by the group Duran Duran, also included several scenes of the band staged on the tower.
  • On New Year's Eve 2000, the Eiffel Tower played host to Paris' Millennium Celebration. Fireworks exploded from the whole length of the tower in a spectacular display.
  • In 2000, flashing lights and four high-power searchlights were installed on the tower. Since then the light show has become a nightly event. The searchlights on top of the tower make it a beacon in Paris' night sky.
  • The tower received its Modèle:Formatnum:200000000th guest of all-time in 2002.<ref> The Eiffel Tower: Paris' Grande Dame 
. france.com

. Retrieved on 2007-07-24. </ref><ref> Soirée réussie le 28 novembre pour fêter l'année du 200 millionième visiteur 

 (French) 
. Official Site
 (2002)

. Retrieved on 2007-07-24. </ref>

  • At 19:20 on 22 July 2003, a fire occurred at the top of the tower in the broadcasting equipment room. The entire tower was evacuated; the fire was extinguished after 40 minutes, and there were no reports of injuries.
  • Since 2004, the Eiffel Tower has hosted an ice skating rink on the first floor during the winter period. Skating is free in Paris.
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The 72 names

Main article: The 72 names on the Eiffel Tower

Gustave Eiffel engraved on the tower seventy-two names of French scientists, engineers and other notable people. This engraving was painted over at the beginning of the twentieth century but restored in 1986-1987 by the Société Nouvelle d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, a company contracted to operate business related to the Tower. The Tower is owned by the city of Paris.

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Image copyright claims

Images of the tower have long been in the public domain; however, in 2003 SNTE (Société nouvelle d'exploitation de la tour Eiffel) installed a new lighting display on the tower. The effect was to put any night-time image of the tower and its lighting display under copyright. As a result, it was no longer legal to publish contemporary photographs of the tower at night without permission in some countries.<ref>Statement that publishing pictures of the lighting requires a fee</ref><ref>In the United States, for example, 17 USC 120(a) explicitly permits the publication of photographs of copyrighted architecture in public spaces. In Germany this is known as Panoramafreiheit.</ref>

The imposition of copyright has been controversial. The Director of Documentation for SNTE, Stéphane Dieu, commented in January 2005, "It is really just a way to manage commercial use of the image, so that it isn't used in ways we don't approve." However, it also potentially has the effect of prohibiting tourist photographs of the tower at night from being published<ref>http://blog.fastcompany.com/archives/2005/02/02/eiffel_tower_repossessed.html</ref> as well as hindering non profit and semi-commercial publication of images of the tower.

In a recent decision, the Court of Cassation ruled that copyright could not be claimed over images including a copyrighted building if the photograph encompassed a larger area. This seems to indicate that SNTE cannot claim copyright on photographs of Paris incorporating the lit tower.

In certain jurisdictions, this claim of copyright is explicitly disallowed. In Irish copyright law, works "permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public" may be freely included in visual reproductions.<ref>Irish Statute Books - Representation of certain artistic works on public display.</ref>

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At Night

At night the Eiffel Tower is entirely lit up a gold-yellow color. At every hour that it is lit up, from the hour to five minutes after the hour it puts on a sparkling show.

EiffelTower.JPG

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In popular culture

Main article: Eiffel Tower in popular culture

As a global landmark, the Eiffel Tower is featured in media including films, video games, and television shows. These include The 400 Blows, Superman II, Team America: World Police, Sex and the City, 28 Weeks Later, the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill, and the video game Twisted Metal 2.

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Lattice towers taller than Eiffel Tower

Name Pinnacle height Year Country Town Remarks
Kiev TV Tower 1263 ft 385 m 1973 Ukraine Kiev Tallest lattice tower of the world
Tashkent Tower 1230 ft 374.9 m 1985 Uzbekistan Tashkent
Pylons of Yangtze River Crossing 1137 ft 346.5m 2003 People’s Republic of China Jiangyin 2 towers, tallest pylons in the world
Dragon Tower 1102 ft 336 m 2000 People’s Republic of China Harbin
Tokyo Tower 1091 ft 332.6 m 1958 Japan Tokyo
Emley Moor transmitting station 1084 ft 330.4 m 1971 United Kingdom West yorkshire, England
WITI TV Tower 1078 ft 329 m 1962 U.S. Shorewood, Wisconsin
WSB TV Tower 1075 ft 327.6 m 1957 U.S. Atlanta, Georgia
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Architectural structures in France taller than Eiffel Tower

Name Pinnacle height Year Structure type Town Remarks
Longwave transmitter Allouis 350 m 1974 Guyed Mast Allouis
HWU transmitter 350 m  ? Guyed Mast Rosnay Multiple masts
Viaduc de Millau 343 m 2004 Bridge Pillar Milliau
TV Mast Niort-Maisonnay 330 m  ? Guyed Mast Niort
Transmitter Le Mans-Mayet 342 m 1993 Guyed Mast Mayet
Transmitter Roumoules 330 m 1974 Guyed Mast Roumoules spare transmission mast for longwave, insulated against ground
Eiffel Tower 324 m 1889 Tower Paris
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Similar towers and reproductions

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Similar towers (not scale models)

In order of decreasing height:

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Reproductions

In order of decreasing height:

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Broadcasting stations

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FM-Radio

Programme Frequency ERP
France Inter 87,8 MHz 3 kW
Regional 90,35 MHz 3 kW
France Culture 93,35 MHz 3 kW
France Musique 97,6 MHz 3 kW
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TV

Programme Channel-Number Frequency ERP
[[Canal+]] 6 182,25 MHz 100 kW
France 2 22 479,25 MHz 500 kW
TF1 25 503,25 MHz 500 kW
France 3 28 527,25 MHz 500 kW
France 5 30 543,25 MHz 100 kW
M6 33 567,25 MHz 100 kW
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Other structures carrying this name

  • Eiffel Tower Co-op in Hackensack, New Jersey, USA[3]
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See also

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References

<references />
  • Frémy, Dominique, Quid de la Tour Eiffel, Robert Lafont, Paris (1989) — out of print</div>
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Gallery

Eiffel Tower, viewed from Champ de Mars.

Paris seen from the Arc de Triomphe with the Eiffel Tower to the right.

Looking south east down the Champ de Mars, Tour Montparnasse in the distance and Les Invalides far left.

Northwest from the tower, across the River Seine, showing the Trocadéro gardens and the Palais de Chaillot. A pleasure boat cruises on the river.

Paris from inside the Eiffel Tower.

From the highest platform.

Looking down from the top observation deck

Looking down from the first level at one of the feet of the tower.

The Eiffel Tower from below.

Eiffel Tower while France was bidding for the Olympic Games, summer 2005

The lace-like iron detailing...

(closer view)

The Tower is made from Modèle:Formatnum:18038 pieces of puddled iron.

Struck by lightning in 1902.

Eiffel tower on Bastille Day

Eiffel Tower During New Years Eve 2006.

Eiffel tower at night

Viewed from Rue de Buenos Ayres.

Tower from across the Seine at sunrise

Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower at sunrise from the Trocadero

Being a major attraction, the Eiffel Tower is reproduced in miniature for tourists, as keychains for example.

The Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Replica at Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dimensions of the Eiffel Tower

Details of the structure from the stairs

Eiffel Tower from Champs de Mars

Blackpool Tower in North West England was inspired by the Eiffel Tower, and is roughly half the height.

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External links

{{#tag:ImageMap| Image:Commons-logo.svg|50px|commons:Accueil default commons:Accueil desc none}}

Wikimedia Commons propose des documents multimédia libres sur Eiffel Tower.

Modèle:Geolinks-buildingscale

Modèle:Start box Modèle:Succession box Modèle:End box Modèle:Visitor attractions in Paris Modèle:Supertall observation and communication towersModèle:Link FA Modèle:Link FA Modèle:Link FA

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