| |
 |
The Eiffel tower, France
The Eiffel Tower was designed by the French engineer and bridge builder Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) for the Paris Exposition of 1889. The tower is 300 m (984 ft) high and consists of an open iron framework making it the highest manmade structure in the world at the time. It was the largest attraction at the Exposition and today it remains the most recognized structure in all of Europe. |
The city of Paris held a competition in 1887, looking for designs for a temporary monument that would be unveiled during the 1889 Worlds Fair. The winning designer, Gustave Eiffel, designed a huge iron latticework tower as a tribute to the French Revolution. Originally the tower was slated to stand for only twenty years. Part of the rules of the design contest stated the structure could be taken down easily. However, by the twenty-year mark, in 1909, the tower was not only popular with tourists; it proved a valuable communication tool for radio broadcasting.
Standing 986 feet tall, the tower is constructed of 18,000 pieces of wrought iron. Every seven years it is repainted. Three different colors are used to help give the tower a uniform look. Darker paint is used on the top, and slightly lighter paint is used on the bottom, to contrast against the lighter sky and darker ground. Because the Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world at the time of its construction, Gustave Eiffel put careful consideration into how it would hold up to gusty winds. He designed the tower with open latticework of wrought iron, allowing winds to blow through the tower, rather than against it. This plan worked so well that even during the strongest winds the tower never sways more than four and half inches. |
|
|
| |
|
| Eiffel Tower |
 This unprecedented work, the tallest structure in the world until the Empire State Building was built about 40 years later, had several antecedents. Among them were the iron-supported railway viaducts designed by Eiffel, an arch bridge over the Douro River in Portugal with a span of 160 m (525 ft), and a design for a circular, iron-frame tower proposed by the American engineers Clarke and Reeves for the Centennial Exposition of 1876. Eiffel knew and publicly acknowledged this influence; he was no stranger to the United States, having designed the wrought-iron pylon inside Frederic Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty in 1885. Later in the same year, he had also begun work on the cupola of the Nice observatory.
Eiffel was the leading European authority on the aerodynamics of high frames (he wrote "The Resistance of the Air" in 1913). In the construction of the Eiffel Tower, the curve of the base pylons was precisely calculated so that the bending and shearing forces of the wind were progressively transformed into forces of compression, which the bents could withstand more effectively. Such was Eiffel's engineering wizardry that even in the strongest winds his tower never sways more than 4-1/2 inches. The superskyscrapers erected since 1960, such as the World Trade Center, were constructed in much the same way.
However difficult its birth may have been, the Tour Eiffel is now completely accepted by French citizens, and is internationally recognized as one of the symbols of Paris itself.
During its lifetime, the Eiffel Tower has witnessed a few strange scenes, including being scaled by a mountaineer in 1954, and two Englishmen parachuting off it in 1984. In 1923, the journalist Pierre Labric (who was later to become mayor of Montmartre) rode a bicycle down from the first level; some accounts say he rode down the stairs, others suggest the exterior of one of the tower's four legs which slope outward.
Politics have also played a role in its life. During World War II, the Germans hung a sign on it that read: "Deutschland Siegt Auf Allen Fronten" ("Germany is victorious on all fronts"). In 1958, a few months before Fidel Castro's rise to power, Cuban revolutionaries hung their red-and-black flag from the first level, and, in 1979, an American from Greenpeace hung one that read: "Save the Seals". In 1989, the Tower celebrated its centennial with music and fireworks (the show lasted 89 minutes). |
|
|
|
| |
Leaning tower of pisa Construction
Effiel Tower Built to celebrate the science and engineering achievements of its age, soaring 300m / 984 ft. (320.75m / 1,052 ft. including antenna) and weighing 7000 tons, the structure consists of two visibly distinct parts: a base composed of a platform resting on four separate supports (called pylons or bents) and, above this, a slender tower created as the bents taper upward, rising above a second platform to merge in a unified column.
The construction of this imposing mass was started in the year 1174 by Bonanno Pisano. When the tower had reached its third storey the works ceased because it had started sinking into the ground. The tower remained thus for 90 years. It was completed by Giovanni di Simone, Tommano Simone (son of Andreo Pisano), crowned the tower with the belfry at half of 14th century.
In 1172, a wealthy widow named Berta di Bernado, left sixty coins in her will to buy stones to begin the construction of the tower. It is a bell tower to accompany the cathedral that it stands next to. It isn't quite clear who the actual designer was, but construction was begun on August 9, 1173. Due to the fact that the people of Pisa were involved in a lot of wars, with several stops to fight, it took until 1350 to complete the building.
The tower is circular, and made up of eight floors of limestone and lime mortar, covered on the outside with marble. The outside of each level has columns and arches. There is a staircase of 293 steps leading up from the ground to the eighth floor; the steps are built between an inner wall and the outer walls. The eighth floor contains the bells, seven in all.
The first stage was the building of the first three floors; this began in 1173 and stopped in 1178, when Pisa was at war. Construction began again in 1275 under an architect called Giovanni di Simone. He built the next three floors, and again work was halted until 1319. The final two floors were added between 1319 and 1350.
The top of the Leaning Tower can be reached by mounting the 294 steps which rise in the form of a spiral on the inner side of the tower walls.
This very famous work is of Romanesque style, and as already stated dates back to the year 1174. Cylindrical in shape it is supplied whit six open galleries. A cornice separates these galleries one from the other and each presents a series of small arches fitted on the capitals of the slender columns. In the base there is a series of big blind arcades with geometrical decorations. In the belfry there is the same design of arcades as that of the base, with the difference that here, there are, apart from the reduced proportions, the housings of the bells.
Although stately, this monument is not lacking in elegance and lightness due to the arcades and open galleries between one storey and another. Although it can be considered a real masterpiece of architecture, this monument is mostly famous for its strong inclination. Regarding this inclination it can be safely stated that it is undoubtedly due to a sinking of the ground right from the time of its construction. Therefore, the assumption of those who desire to imagine that great tower was built inclined is entirely without foundation.
First level: 57.63 meters (189 feet). Observatory from which to study the movements of the Eiffel Tower's summit. Kiosk presentation about the mythic painting of the Eiffel Tower. Space CINEIFFEL: offers an exceptional panorama of sights from the Tower. Souvenir shops (yes, every tourist MUST have a miniature replica). Restaurant "Altitude 95" (phone 01-45-55-20-04). Post office, with special stamps "Paris Eiffel Tower ". Panoramic gallery displaying the Monuments of Paris.
Second level: 115.73 meters (379 feet, 8 inches). Panorama of Paris. Telescopes, shops. Animated displays on the operation of the elevators. Jules Verne Restaurant (extremely expensive, reservations absolutely necessary; phone 01-45-55-61-44).
Third level: 276.13 meters (905 feet, 11 inches). Exceptional panoramic views, day or night, of Paris and its surroundings. Recently restored office of Gustave Eiffel, showing him welcoming Thomas Edison. Panoramic guide displays to aid orientation. Dioramas presenting the history of this platform
|
| |
|
| |
| Interesting Fact about Effiel Tower There |
|
- 300 steel workers, and 2 years (1887-1889) to construct it.
- 15,000 iron pieces (excluding rivets).
- 2.5 million rivets.
- 40 tons of paint.
- 1671 steps to the top.
- Maximum sway at top caused by wind: 12 cm (4.75 inches).
- Maximum sway at top caused by metal dilation: 18 cm (7 inches).
- Total height in 1889: 300.51 meters (985 feet, 11 inches).
- Total height with television antenna: 320.755 meters (1052 feet, 4 inches).
- Height varies up to 15 cm depending on temperature.
- Size of base area: 10,281.96 square meters (2.54 acres).
- Weight of foundations: 277,602 kg (306 tons).
- Weight of iron: 7.34 million kg (8092.2 tons).
- Weight of elevator systems: 946,000 kg (1042.8 tons).
- Total weight: 8.56 million kg (9441 tons).
- Pressure on foundation: 4.1 to 4.5 kg per square centimeter, depending on pier (58.26 to 64 lbs. per square inch).
- Dates of construction: January 26, 1887 to March 31, 1889.
- Cost of construction: 7.8 million francs ($1.5 million).
- Total receipts during 1889 Exposition: 5,919,884 francs ($1.14 million).
|
| |
|
| Getting There
|
|
Open every day of the year. Hours: June 14 - August 30, 9:00 a.m. - midnight (both elevator & stairs); August 31 - June 13, 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. (elevator), 9:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. (stairs).
Entrance Charges By elevator — 1st floor: 4.20€/adult, 2.30€/child (under 12); 2nd floor: 7.70€/adult, 4.20€/child ; top floor: 11.00€/adult, 6.00€/child. On foot (stairs) — up to 2nd floor only: 3.80€/age 25+, 3.30€/age under 25. Children under 3 free. See web site for group rates.
Métro: Bir-Hakeim.
RER: Champ-de-Mars.
Buses: 42, 69, 72, 82, 87.
|
| |
|
 |
|
