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Eiffel tower-Genesis and anecdotes

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Paris-7th arr-Eiffel tower-a genesis and anecdotes

There is a myth about the tower of Mr.Eiffel which (by the way Gustave Eiffel was from German origin) could well have usurped his name, but more about that later). It is said that no Parisian was ever on it, because it is a thing not to do for a real “Parisien”. The climb is something for hillbillies and guys from the countryside, foreign tourists included. But if you question them thoroughly, the Parisians admit that they have been at least once in their life on the Eiffel tower—like a sort of pilgrimage to Mecca---. After all, without that you couldn’t be a good Parisian;-).  
In fact, the name Eiffel shouldn’t be on this tower at all. His chief engineers, Koechlin and Nouguier sold the Project 1884 they designed to be presented at the world fair of 1889 to Gustave Eiffel. It was stipulated that Eiffel would pay the patent price, as well as one percent of his honoraries. But Eiffel soon forgot the obligation that the names of his two engineers should be associated with the name of the construction.
15,000 metal parts, riveted together by 2,500,000 screws and nails and a total weight of 7300 tons were assembled in two years which resulted in a tower of 312, 27 height (with antennas 320,75). To keep the structures in good health a huge paint job is done every seven years with…..50 tons of paint!  

The inauguration of the tower, by president Sadi Carnot, took place in 1889 without too much publicity, to satisfy a request from Eiffel who hated public appearances. A few guests of honour like the prince of Wales climbed the tower on feet, since the elevators weren’t ready at that time. It took them an hour to climb the 1789 stairs. Today, we rush high speed in renovated elevators to the “garconniere” of the great Gustave on the third floor, high up 300 meters in the summit of that “disgraceful skeleton” like Guy de Maupassant described it. You can meet the wax statue of Eiffel and Thomas Edison in this garconnière, renovated, like the whole Eiffel tower in the 80’s. Eiffel liked to take his guests of honour to his apartment. Today, there is not much left of it but a reporter of last century described it “ with a pretty parlour, antechamber, dining room, bed room, a few untidy small rooms and a very special garret, brightly lit during the night. He invited his guests for dinner at “Brébant (no “Jules Verne” at that time;-)) like that evening of 11th of September 1889 with Thomas Edison and the composer Charles Gounod, who had just signed a petition against “that abominable pilar of riveted steel”.
A fierce, passionate debate, sometimes very heavy, was the subject about the tower for years. It received a lot of nicknames like a " hollow candle-stick", “giraffe cage”,” tragic standing lamp” or ungraceful skeleton" by Guy de Maupassant.
Eiffel knew all that off course, he could read newspapers, and his main concern was to avoid the destruction of the tower after the World Fair of 1889. The critics against the “hollow colossus” were virulent, Verlaine made a great detour in his walks not to be obliged to see the “monster” and Guy de Maupassant, already mentioned above, climbed on it regularly because, like he said, it was the only place in Paris from where he could not see it. Today we hear the same humorous remarks about the tour Montparnasse and the Sacre-Coeur in Montmartre. Eiffel, being the official builder, had a propriety claim for 20 years and founded the Societe de la Tour Eiffel. In 1909 the tower is up for destruction but Eiffel used the tower more and more for scientific experiments to show Paris they couldn’t live anymore without it. After having proven in WWI the utility of the tower as antenna for the T.S.F. (telegraphie sans fil)  (radio waves) the tower is definitely saved. 
In 1986 the tower had a major lifting! Certainly more than half of the tower opponents had to review their opinion when a 44-year-old Britton electro-technician, Pierre Brideau, designed a new lighting for the Eiffel tower. The result is stunning: the tower is not lit any more from the outside by projectors but glows from the inside thanks to sodium lamps placed in the tower's superstructures. Its heavy pillars look like gold in the evening and seen from a distance it is seems the tower of iron lace is floating with majesty but also with fragility over Paris. The created effect was a tremendous success. In 1997 a huge luminous panel was installed counting off the days separating us from the year 2000.About 4 million visitors a year come to the tower. Best hour for the view: one hour before sunset.

The tower had also his adventurers: some tried to jump with a parachute that didn’t open because of the humidity, like Marc Gayet, a hunchback. Quoting the guide du Routard: "A reporter who came down the stairs from the first floor by bicycle arrived triumphantly but was arrested by the local police for a " provoking unlawful mob". A hot airship made the tour of the tower once and was dashed down on the structure; no harm done except the panic of a pregnant lady on the third floor who delivered her baby in the elevator taking her back. The tour saw about 400 suicides since its existence: only 2 survived. (unquote)

Bibliography: Vie et histoire des arrondissements de Paris, ed.Hervas, 1985-1988, 20 volumes- Le piéton de Paris, by L.P. Fargue, ed.Gallimard 1997—Rive Gauche, une expérience unique, by Cl.Evrard, ed.Albin 1991-Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris, by J.Hillairet, ed.Minuit 1985,---Eiffel, l’homme et son œuvre, by A.Lapeybie (ed. Miniut 1988), ---Anecdotes et secrets de polichinelle d’une construction, by J.Francisque, article from a Figaro litteraire 1997.