Why The Eiffel Tower Was Only Supposed To Be Temporary

[Meanderer]

Why the Eiffel Tower was originally built​

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The Eiffel Tower was originally built as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair, which itself was meant to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the start of the French Revolution. It was designed by Gustave Eiffel, Maurice Koechlin, and Emile Nouguier. Koechlin and Nouguier were employees at Eiffel's company and are credited with the actual design of the tower itself.

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The tower was designed to be the tallest man-made structure in the world — a title it held for a little over 40 years. But since it was built primarily for the World's Fair, the tower was supposed to stand for only 20 years, at most. In 1909, ownership of the tower was set to switch over from Eiffel to the City of Paris, and it was expected that the tower would be torn down at that time. Of course, that didn't happen, and the Eiffel Tower has grown to become one of the world's most recognizable and beloved structures.

 

[Meanderer]

The Eiffel Tower Laboratory

"The Eiffel Tower was supposed to be destroyed only 20 years after its construction. To remedy the situation, Gustave Eiffel had the ingenious idea of crediting it with a scientific purpose – the Tower was saved!" Read More

 

[Meanderer]

Put A Propeller On It: the Golden Age of Tinkering​

By Felipe Fernandes Cruz – Published February 24, 2014


Once upon a time, motorcycles, trains, and even UFOs were driven by propellers. Personal flying machines roamed the streets of Paris, and people were afraid that marauding anarchist Zeppelins might destroy their cities. No, it’s not a steam punk novel. It was the turn of the twentieth century, and the golden age of tinkering.
Alberto Santos-Dumont is beloved in Brazil as the inventor of the airplane (his heart is even preserved in formaldehyde at Rio de Janeiro’s Air and Space Museum). But it was in Paris, the global capital of ballooning, that the debonair Brazilian made his name. In 1898 he decided that he was not satisfied with the haphazard nature of navigation in his balloon. So he put an engine and a propeller on it. Soon, he was the only man in the world flying a dirigible—even winning a prize for maneuvering around the Eiffel Tower.

 

[Meanderer]

Aliens take on the Eiffel Tower

 

[Marie5656]

Well....that is something I do not think I ever knew.

 

[Jeni]

I thought of worlds fair thing before opening your post ...
i think many structures built for a worlds fair may have not been intended for a permanent building.

 

[bowmore]

Photo of the height marker at the top of the Eiffel Tower. We drank champagne with Paris at our feet.

 

[Kaila]

Very interesting! @Meanderer
Thank you!

 

[RadishRose]

The Eiffel Tower Laboratory

"The Eiffel Tower was supposed to be destroyed only 20 years after its construction. To remedy the situation, Gustave Eiffel had the ingenious idea of crediting it with a scientific purpose – the Tower wasV saved!" Read More

Merci Beaucoup!

 

[Kaila]

Merci Beaucoup!

Oui! Moi aussie!

 

[Meanderer]

 

[fuzzybuddy]

One of the high points of my life was getting to see the Eiffle Tower. It's brown. And it's beautiful, graceful and grand. Pics don't really capture it.