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EIFFEL TOWER

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Originally appearing in Volume V09, Page 133 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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EIFFEL See also:

TOWER . Erected for the exposition of 1889, the Eiffel Tower, in the Champ de See also:Mars, See also:Paris, is by far the highest artificial structure in the See also:world, and its height of 300 metres (984 ft.) surpasses that of the See also:obelisk at See also:Washington by 429 ft., and that of St See also:Paul's See also:cathedral by 58o ft. Its framework is composed essentially of four uprights, which rise from the corners of a square measuring '<o metres on the See also:side; thus the See also:area it covers at its See also:base is nearly 21 acres. These uprights are supported on huge piers of See also:masonry and See also:concrete, the See also:foundations for which were carried down, by the aid of See also:iron caissons and compressed See also:air, to a See also:depth of about 15 metres on the side next the See also:Seine, and about 9 metres on the other side. At first they See also:curve upwards at an See also:angle of 540; then they gradually become straighter, until they unite in a single See also:shaft rather more than See also:half-way up. The first See also:platform, at a height of 57 metres, has an area of 586o sq. yds., and is reached either by staircases or lifts. The next, accessible by lifts only, is 115 metres up, and has an area of 32 sq. yds; while the third, at 276, supports a See also:pavilion capable of holding 800 persons. Nearly 25 metres higher up still is the See also:lantern, with a See also:gallery 5 metres in See also:diameter.. The See also:work of See also:building this structure, which is mainly composed of iron lattice-work, was begun on the 28th of See also:January 1887, and the full height was reached on the 13th of See also:March 1889. Besides being one of the See also:sights of Paris, to which visitors resort in See also:order to enjoy the extensive view that can be had from its higher galleries on a clear See also:day, the tower is used to some extent for scientific and semi-scientific purposes; thus meteorological observations are carried on. The engineer under whose direction the tower was constructed was See also:Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (See also:born at See also:Dijon on the 15th of See also:December 1832), who had already had a wide experience in the construction of large See also:metal See also:bridges, and who designed the huge sluices for the See also:Panama See also:Canal, when it was under the See also:French See also:company.

End of Article: EIFFEL TOWER

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