Friday, February 24, 2012

La signature de Paris Eiffel Tower

Paris is the city of love, art, fine cuisine, and some of the world's greatest architecture. No trip to Paris is complete without a visit to the Eiffel Tower. The tallest structure in Paris, the most visited monument in the world, the global icon of France. 



 The Eiffel Tower was built for the World Exhibition in 1889, held in celebration of the French Revolution in 1789. With its architectural elegance and visibility from around Paris, a visit to the tower is a must see for all visitors to France. The construction was only meant to last for the duration of the Exposition, but it still stands today, despite all protests from contemporary artists who feared the construction would be the advent of structures without individuality and despite the many people who feared that this huge 'object' would not fit into the architecture of Paris. Today, there is no such aversion anymore among the French, and one could not imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower, in fact it has become the symbol of the City of Light.

The Eiffel Tower was built by Gustave-Alexanre Eiffel, who also did the framework for the Statue of Liberty. When construction of the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889, the 75 story high tower became the tallest structure in the world.

Gustave Eiffel, known for his revolutionary ace building techniques, as employed in the great viaduct at Garabit in 1884. These techniques would form the basis for the construction of the Eiffel Tower. He was also known for the construction of the framework of the Statue of Liberty.

When Gustave Eiffel designed the tower, he imagined that it would become the support of a great variety of scientific devices and experiments to study gravity and wind pressure. The structure of the tower was therefore designed for increase of its weight. During World War I, the tower was holding antennas to retransmit radio wave to the whole country. The structural aspects of the Eiffel tower indicate that it is a highly hyperstatic structure, which is dimensioned for a weight higher than what it is supporting this day.

The structure took more than two years to complete. Each one of the about 12,000 iron pieces were designed separately to give them exactly the shape needed. All pieces were prefabricated and fit together using approximately 7 million nails. The Eiffel Tower consists of three floors or landings.  A series or elevators run up the massive legs of the Eiffel Tower, carrying tourists to each of the three viewpoints.

This mighty lanky tower has stood puffed as the signature of Paris and is the pride of the French, always and forever.

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