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The Real Story Behind the Eiffel Tower
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Mar 27, 2025
Completed in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was conceived as the centerpiece of Paris for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World's Fair). Outliving its original lifespan by more than a century, Nathaniel Drew takes us on a lesson through time to show us how this engineering marvel was constructed.
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I want to tell you the story of the Eiffel Tower
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I mean, look at this. This style is reminiscent of a railroad track or a warehouse
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So the question then becomes, how did this industrial structure come to dominate Paris
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and become the symbol of an entire country? And furthermore, how was the Eiffel Tower saved from destruction
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Okay, so to understand the inspiration behind the Eiffel Tower, you have to look at France
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in the middle of the 1800s when the country was in crisis. France had been going through
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very high highs and very low lows, and it's really important to emphasize that. The country
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had lived through its most powerful empire and had ended up losing most of it in 1870 after war
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lost with or against rather Prussia which is a part of what is modern day Germany but anyway
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semantics. As the capital of the country Paris had undergone complete redesigns revolutions and
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regime changes. It was a rough time so all in all the country was divided and unstable and
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morale was low. I think it's fair to say that. But with the late 1800s also came the Industrial
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Revolution and an event called a World's Fair and the chance for France to sort of regain some status
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kind of reinvent itself, if you will. As massive advances in technology swept the globe
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the World's Fair was kind of like a chance for countries to show off their new kind of technology
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if you will. Think of World Fairs like the Olympics today, okay, where the location changes
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each time and the host takes the opportunity to impress other countries with their own
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technological prowess. And now if I can be heard over the roar of all this machinery of preparation I like to give you a preview of the wonder of the modern world
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In 1889, national pride and morale was low in France, and yet that year it was Paris' turn to host the event
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Not only was France looking to restore some national pride, which makes sense given the current context
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but it would take that opportunity to actually celebrate the 100th birthday of Bastille Day with a bang
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So this was like all out. So their plan to do this was simple
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They set out to build the tallest building in the world. At 300 meters, the tower was to be almost twice as tall as the tallest building at the time
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which is kind of mind-boggling to think about. And at that time, the tallest building was the Washington Monument
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The guy in charge of building it was a French engineer called Gustave Eiffel
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which is where its name comes from. Eiffel was already famous for metallic structures like bridges and buildings he'd made all over the world
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And he had experience with famous landmarks. He'd even built the underlying structure of another pretty famous one
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Yes, one of the most famous American monuments is actually French. It was a gift to the U.S., believe it or not, to commemorate the centennial of the American independence
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And under the copper skin, you will find an iron structure that looks very similar to the Eiffel Tower
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By the way, side note, okay? there are four replicas of the Statue of Liberty in Paris. I just thought that would be an interesting
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fact to share. I'll put those on a map in case you want to hunt them down. There's a long history of
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sort of French and American alliances and support to one another. Now, right after he finished the
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Statue of Liberty, Eiffel started work on this tower, which is, I mean, incredible that one guy
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had such an impact on the world through monuments. Here's his original sketch for what he envisioned
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an iron tower with this curved design, a structure unlike any other ever built at the time By 1887 this giant modern tower started to rise up in the middle of the city And as is usual in these cases people hated it Artists and thinkers and neighbors petitioned against it
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It was strange and industrial with its crisscrossing metal beams. And at that time, it was actually painted red
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a contrast to the regal and grand architecture the city was known for
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And so, you know, whenever we're confronted with the unknown, oftentimes we resist
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And this is exactly what happened. Regardless, Eiffel didn't stop. It continued to build
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After just over two years of construction, it was done. Rising 312 meters above Paris, the general public saw it as a complete success
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So opinion shifted. People lined up to come and visit it and admire the view at 276 meters
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To be this tall, the Eiffel Tower had to be an engineering marvel on all levels
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And I think we kind of take it for granted. But again, at the time, this monument was twice as tall as the next tallest building in the world
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So just think about that. The team behind the tower had to take into account the effect of wind up to 100 kilometers an hour
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which is 60 miles an hour, on the structure. And you can see all these clever touches everywhere in the tower
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Okay, so why does this structure have so many holes in it? It has to do with the wind. Now, most buildings would use these large metal beams, if you will
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But Eiffel instead chose to use these thinner iron bars that were nailed together in this crisscross fashion that allowed the wind to pass through
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And this was part of his signature style. And it also allowed it to be a lot taller than any of the buildings that existed at the time
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So here's the really cool thing about this. Because of its design, builders could create the individual pieces in Eiffel's workshop outside of Paris
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And then assemble them on site like a giant puzzle. Nailed together with little metal nails or rivets
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In total, there were 2.5 million rivets that hold all the steel pieces together
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They could have just built the tower for people to marvel at, but they also wanted people
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to be able to go up into the tower Here are the workers working on the elevator which had to be designed in a totally new way to account for the unique design of the tower Eiffel took inspiration from mountain
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gondolas and trains because of the curve of the tower legs. The visitors at the time were in awe
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Now, in addition to the scientific innovation required to build the tower itself
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Eiffel saw the potential to use it as a tool to study aerodynamics, the atmosphere, astrology
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and electricity. He was a passionate scientist himself. And if you look closely, there are 72
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names engraved in gold of major scientists just under the first floor balcony. And science is
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precisely what saved the Eiffel Tower, incidentally enough. So it worked out. Initially, the lease was
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for 20 years, so it should have been destroyed in 1909. But Eiffel, by then, had started working
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with the military to experiment with using the tower as an antenna for communication. I mean
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There's so many details about this story that just feel kind of unbelievable, but it's true
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The strategic advantage was not lost on the military, and the tower was saved
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Still today, the tower is used to transmit radio and TV in the area
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the antennas pushing its total height to 324 meters. To most, the tower is a symbol of the city
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and it offers a 360 view of the entire region on clear days
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So, it's definitely worth a visit, in my opinion. But plan ahead because it is busy
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The best solution is to book your tickets in advance on the official website, especially during the summer when tons of tourists come to visit
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Tickets range in price depending on how high you want to go and if you want to climb the stairs or use the elevator
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You can find a link to buy tickets in the course guide. As I mentioned before, it will take you between, I don't know
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two to three hours to explore the tower depending on how high you're going, how busy it is, and how contemplative you are, how much you want to take it in
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I tried to arrive before 11am and after 5pm for a less crowded experience
#Architecture
#Engineering & Technology
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