Eiffel Tower or the Lady of Iron Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Eiffel Tower or the Lady of Iron - Essay Example In 1909, it was decided to dismantle the tower however the process never took place because the tower was being used for Radio transmission. The government of France decided to hold a monument contest. It was intended that the best monument will be displayed in the World Fair of 1889. The design for the Eiffel Tower by Gustave was unanimously selected out of 700 monument designs received. The construction on the Tower began in 1887, at first Parisians did not like the Eiffel Tower and considered it to be an eyesore. Most of them wanted the Tower to be dismantled, however, when the construction was completed, the tower became a prominent French symbol. French structural Engineer Gustave received the assistance of two other engineers Emile Nouguier and Maurice Koechlin during the construction. The architect who assisted Gustave in the construction was Stephen Sauvestre. The Tower was constructed by three hundred workers who joined 18,038 pieces of pure structural iron known as the ‘puddled iron’. During the construction, 2.5 million rivets were used to join the pieces of puddled iron together. The Eiffel Tower has an open frame supported by two platforms, thus during its construction, there was a danger of losing human lives. To minimize the danger level, Gustave ordered the use of movable staging, screens as well as guard-rails. Due to the precautionary measures were taken during the entire period of construction, only one man lost his life. The construction of the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889 and the inauguration ceremony was held on 31st March 1889. The Tower was officially opened on 9th May 1889. In 1889, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in France. However, now the tallest structure in France is Millau Viaduct and Eiffel Tower is the second tallest structure. The Tower has three floors and has a height of 324 meters or 1,063 feet. The heights of the three floors are 57 m, 115 m and276 m respectively. Eiffel Tower was not loved by all Parisians and it received much criticism during the time of its opening.