Isn’t it the most iconic monument in the world? If so. Isn’t it incredible to think that it should be demolished in a few years? Indeed. The Eiffel Tower should only have lasted 20 years, but it already exceeds 130. Why?
Chosen from many
The project belonged to the French businessman Gustave Eiffel. The engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier as well as the architect Stephen Sauvestre have joined forces. This project was selected from a total of 107 proposals. The construction was carried out as part of the World Exhibition of 1889. It was the first century of the French Revolution.
Apparently almost nobody liked it at first. It received numerous criticisms from the start and was the subject of several protests during its construction. A letter was even published in the French newspaper The weather on February 14, 1887. Artists, architects and personalities of the time questioned the work. What did they fight? This French taste, this French art and this French history are “threatened by the construction of the useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower in the heart of our capital”.
They said more: “And for twenty years we shall see the shadow of this terrible bolted iron pillar stretch over the city.” Why twenty years? That was the original idea. After this time the tower had to be destroyed. But Gustave Eiffel had other plans for its creation.
Maintain the tower
From the moment the proposal was made in 1886, Eiffel considered how it should be protected. He knew that if the monument were useful to science, “it would protect it from its enemies and extend its useful life”. This explains the official site of the Eiffel Tower.
And so it happened from the time of its inauguration on March 31, 1889. The tower was used as a laboratory for scientific measurements and experiments. Gustave Eiffel himself set up an office on the third floor to carry out astronomical and physiological observations.
And as evidence, the story continued despite its expiration date. The Eiffel Tower should only have lasted 20 years, but many have changed their minds about the “monstrous” monument.
“For my part, I believe the tower will have its own beauty,” wrote Gustave Eiffel in a letter published in The weather. “Do people think that as an engineer, beauty doesn’t play a role in what we build? If we’re looking for something solid and durable, can’t we do everything we can to achieve elegance at the same time? “
Time was on his side.
