Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower as seen from the Champ de
Mars
Information
Location
Paris, France
Status
Complete
Constructed
1887 – 1889
Use
Observation tower
Radio broadcasting tower
Height
Antenna/Spire
324 metres (1,063 ft)
Roof
300.65 metres (986 ft)
Companies
Architect
Gustave Eiffel
Structural
Engineer
Gustave Eiffel
The Eiffel Tower (French: Tour Eiffel, /tuʀ
ɛfɛl/) is an iron tower built on the Champ de
Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. The
tower has become a global icon of France
and is one of the most recognizable struc-
tures in the world.
Introduction
Named after its designer, engineer Gustave
Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest building
in Paris.[1] More than 200,000,000 people
have visited the tower since its construction
in 1889,[2] including 6,719,200 in 2006,[3]
making it the most visited paid monument in
the world.[4][5] Including the 24 m (79 ft) an-
tenna, the structure is 324 m (1,063 ft) high
(since 2000), which is equivalent to about 81
levels in a conventional building.
Eiffel Tower October 2007
When the tower was completed in 1889 it
was the world’s tallest tower — a title it re-
tained until 1930 when New York City’s
Chrysler Building (319 m — 1,047 ft tall) was
completed.[6] The tower is now the fifth-
tallest structure in France and the tallest
structure in Paris, with the second-tallest be-
ing the Tour Montparnasse (210 m — 689 ft),
although that will soon be surpassed by Tour
AXA (225.11 m — 738.36 ft).
The metal structure of the Eiffel Tower
weighs 7,300 tonnes while the entire struc-
ture including non-metal components is ap-
proximately 10,000 tonnes. Depending on the
ambient temperature, the top of the tower
may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm
(7 in) because of thermal expansion of the
metal on the side facing the sun. The tower
also sways 6–7 cm (2–3 in) in the wind.[3] As
demonstration of the economy of design, if
the 7300 tonnes of the metal structure were
melted down it would fill the 125 meter
square base to a depth of only 6 cm (2.36 in),
assumin