Wordsmith - Student Submissions

The Eiffel Tower by Bellisant Corcoran-Mathe

Located on the Left Bank of Paris, the capital city of France, stands the Eiffel Tower ( known to Parisians as Tour Eiffel). This structure has been standing for over a hundred years and is recognized by millions as a symbol of Paris. It is the tallest structure in Paris, the fifth tallest in France at 1,055 feet and was the tallest structure in the world for 41 years (when it was surpassed in height by the Chrysler Building).

Although the Eiffel Tower’s architect, Gustav Eiffel, designed and built the monument for a World’s Fair that would mark the centennial of France’s Revolution, he originally planned to build it in Barcelona, Spain. The Spanish too were having a World’s Fair, but the head of the Fair thought the structure odd, expensive and not in keeping with the surroundings of Spain, so Eiffel gave his blueprint to those responsible for France’s World’s Fair. His draft was accepted and in 1887 building began.

Construction took two years and during that time two and a half million rivets were joined with iron. Despite its ground breaking height, only one death resulted during its two year construction. Although the Eiffel Tower is now considered a work of art, when it was unveiled in 1989 many despised it. A majority of the arts community felt it to be an eyesore and newspapers were filled with letters of a similar nature. One novelist, Guy de Maupassant, ate lunch everyday in Jules Verne (a restaurant located on the second floor of the tower) even though he supposedly hated the structure. His reason for eating meals there was that is was the only place he could lunch in Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower. Citizens of Paris also believed that the structure was too weak to withstand bad weather and strong gusts of wind, but the tower never blew away as many thought it would.

In 1909, the tower was scheduled to be demolished (as were the terms of the agreement with Gustave Eiffel), but it was deemed valuable for communication purposes. Since then it has been used for radio transmissions and in 1957 a radio antennae was placed on the top where it remains to this day. During the occupation of Paris by the Germans, the French cut the wires of the elevators, so if Hitler had wished to get to the top, he would have had to walk up the 1,792 stairs! Since the parts to repair the elevators were impossible to find during a war, the Nazis had to climb the stairs in order to fly the Swastika from the top of the tower. However, the flag was too large and within two hours it blew off, resulting in the Germans having to ascend the stairs once again to replace it with a smaller one. Throughout the entire occupation, Hitler never went up the Eiffel Tower; it is said that he conquered France, but he did not conquer the Eiffel Tower. Toward the end of the occupation, when allies where nearing Paris, Hitler ordered one of his officers to destroy the tower, but the officer disobeyed his order. Supposedly, a mere hour after the Liberation of Paris, the people of France had the elevators up and running.

Although the shape of the Eiffel Tower is considered beautiful by many, it’s shaped that way to allow for both strength and flexibility in the elements. Through mathematical calculations, Gustave Eiffel determined that the tower would have to be a sturdy shape in order to be wind resistant. Thus the wide, rooted legs and the thin spire of the tower create enough weight to hold the sculpture down. Another architecturally interesting aspect is that although it is entirely made from heavy puddled iron, the lattice work design creates an airy and light quality. Every 7 years the tower receives a ìface liftî, a new coat of paint to help prevent rust (this coat take 50 to 60 tons of paint). The tower also shrinks six inches in the winter and grows six inches in the summer, thanks to the French climate and the contraction/expansion of
the metal.

The architecture of the Eiffel Tower is shown to great advantage at night by illumination. It normally is illuminated gold, but it recently was changed to a bright sapphire blue, and it now sparkles with silver stars every hour for ten minutes. To top it all off, the twelve golden stars of the European Flag were placed at its base, in honor of the French Presidency of the European Union. It also flashes high powered searchlights across the panorama of Paris (as it has done for the past eight years). The tower’s illumination has been a tradition since its inauguration and helps Paris celebrate particular holidays, such as New Year’s Eve. For the New Year’s Eve of 1999, fireworks exploded from the entire height of the tower.

To this day The Eiffel Tower is thought by many to be one of the pioneering structures of modern design and has gained around-the-world fame. It is a historical landmark that has been visited by over 200,000,000 tourists and Parisians. For less than 20 Euros, visitors can ride to the top to see a panoramic view of The City of Lights. All of its architectural qualities and history combine to make the Eiffel Tower one of Paris’ most interesting sites to see and experience.

Bellisant Corcoran-Mathé lives and homeschools in New York City. She is enrolled in Royal Academy as a sophomore. She enjoys writing, acting and theatre arts.