Why the Eiffel Tower has a Secret Apartment on Top

when Gustav eiffel's company built paris's most  recognizable Monument for the 1889 World's Fair   many regarded the massive iron structure  with skepticism but today the Eiffel Tower   which continues to serve an important role in  television and radio broadcast is considered an   architectural wonder and attracts more visitors  than any other paid tourist attraction worldwide   actually more than 7 million people visit this  iconic Tower every year since the towers 1889   opening 250 million people have enjoyed all  the Eiffel Tower offers and it has a lot to   offer the towers three platforms are home to  two restaurants several buffets a banquet hall   a Champagne Bar and many unique gift shops yet  one spot remains secretive covered in mystery   the towers forgotten Penthouse apartment which  I aim to unveil today we discover the Eiffel   Tower and its secret apartment I'm your host  Ryan silkash and you're watching it's history discover the secret at the top of the Eiffel Tower  a story that brings together my love of globes   maps and science not unlike my unique mova Globe  this globe is powered by light and the Earth's   magnetic field it's mesmerizing to look at and  creates an almost magical impression there are no   chords and no batteries by the end of our episode  you'll see that the Eiffel Tower was built as a   testament to science as is very much the case  with this fantastic Globe so get your own six   to eight and a half inch globe at 10 off by using  the code it's history at movaglobes.com the Eiffel   Tower wouldn't have been made possible without  Gustav Eiffel Eiffel was born on December the   15th 1832 and Dijon France and after graduating  from the College of Arts and Manufacturing   in 1855 Eiffel began to specialize in metal  construction especially Bridges he directed The   erection of an Iron Bridge in 1858 followed  by several others he designed the lofty arched   gallery of machines for the Paris exhibition of  1867 then in 1877 he bridged the Doro River with   a 525-foot steel Arch which he followed with an  even greater arch of the same type the 540-foot   span over the Tria River in southern France which  for many years was the highest bridge in the world   standing at 400 feet over the stream furthermore  he was one of the first Engineers to employ   compressed air caissons and Bridge construction  he designed the movable Dome of the observatory at   nice and the framework of the Statue of Liberty in  New York Harbor and as if all that was not enough   Eiffel startled the world with the construction  of the Eiffel Tower which brought him the nickname   Magician of iron this project in particular  directed his interest to aerodynamic problems   and he used the tower for several experiments  in fact just outside of Paris he built his first   aerodynamic laboratory where he continued to  work throughout world war one until 1921 when   he handed the laboratory over to the state the  Eiffel Tower was envisioned after discussing a   suitable centerpiece for the proposed World's  Fair to celebrate the Centennial of the French   Revolution the Eiffel Tower openly acknowledged  inspiration from The ladding Observatory built in   New York City in 1853 in May of 1884 Gustav Eiffel  recruited Maurice Copeland an engineer who made   a sketch described by him as quote a great pylon  consisting of four lattice girders standing apart   at the base and coming together at the top joined  together by metal trusses at regular intervals   initially enthusiasm was somewhat low but further  study was approved when Engineers asked the   head of the company's architectural Department  to contribute to the design decorative arches   were added to the tower's base a glass Pavilion  to the first level and other embellishments this   new version gained support and as a result was  displayed at the exhibition of decorative arts   in the Autumn of 1884. ultimately leading to  approval and Construction Construction began   on July the 1st 1887 and was completed 22 months  later all the elements were prepared in eiffel's   factory located on the outskirts of Paris each of  the 18 thousand pieces used to construct the tower   was explicitly designed and calculated traced out  to an accuracy of a tenth of a millimeter and then   put together forming new pieces around 5 meters  each now when it came to on location management a   construction team who had previously worked on the  excellent metal Viaduct project were responsible   for the 150 to 300 workers on site assembling this  gigantic erector set all the metal pieces of the   tower are held together by rivets a well-refined  method of construction for the time it worked like   this first the factory assembled the parts using  bolts later to be replaced by thermally assembled   rivets which contracted during the cooling process  thus ensuring a very tight fit a team of four men   was needed for each rivet assembled one to heat  it and another to hold it in place a third to   shape the head and the fourth to beat it in with  a sledgehammer only a third of the two million 500   000 rivets used in constructing the tower were  inserted directly on site the uprights rest on   concrete foundations installed a few meters below  the ground on top of a layer of compacted gravel   Each corner Edge rests on its supporting block  applying a pressure of three to four kilograms   per square centimeter and each block is joint  to the others by walls the tower was assembled   using wooden scaffolding and small steam cranes  mounted onto the tower itself the first level's   assembly was achieved by using 12 temporary  wooden scaffolds 30 meters high and four larger   scaffolds 40 meters each sandboxes and hydraulic  jacks replaced after use by permanent wedges   allowed the metal girders to be positioned  to an accuracy of one millimeter on December   the 7th 1887 the joining of these significant  girders up to the first level was completed the   pieces were hauled up by steam cranes which  climbed up the tower as they went along using   the runners for the tower's lift surprisingly it  only took five months to build the foundations and   21 to finish assembling the metal pieces of the  tower considering the rudimentary means available   at that period this could be regarded as a record  speed construction was finished on March the 31st   1889 with Eiffel receiving his decoration from the  Legion of Honor on the narrow platform at the top   and yet despite the successful undertaking all  was not well there was so much skepticism around   the tower at the time many were against the  building and voiced their concern in a letter   entitled Artists Against Mr eiffel's Tower stating  that the tower threatened the aesthetic nature of   Paris the academic elitist hated seeing an iron  Tower erected smack in the heart of their beloved   City they considered it unacceptable a stark  contrast to the elegance and refined beauty of   the city for example one French poet nicknamed the  Eiffel Tower the skeletons Belfry to demonstrate   the gigantic Towers on gainly appearance that was  bound to quote disfigure the city and even so in   the light of the criticism from the biggest names  in the world of art and literature the tower stood   its ground and achieved the success it deserved  eventually the criticism burnt itself out in the   presence of the the completed Masterpiece in light  of the enormous popular success with which it was   greeted apparently there was a silent majority  that loved the tower all along as it received   two million visitors during the World's Fair of  1889 and beautiful views aside many visitors were   left feeling perplexed at the site of a private  apartment near the summit of the tower the private   apartment located on top of the Eiffel Tower is  unknown to many Gustav Eiffel designed it as his   personal space for him to entertain notable  guests and perform scientific experiments the   apartment was the lowest of a series of platforms  that reached the uppermost sections of the tower   apparently this was the ideal place in Paris  for any experiments that were atmospheric or   astronomical in nature it's generally referred  to as the secret apartment but according to some   sources it was always more or less known to the  public the apartment itself measured roughly 100   square meters and included a workshop living  space dining room kitchen bathroom and piano   it's an apartment but the lack of a bedroom  leads most to believe that the man never slept   there all the same after word got out that Eiffel  had a private Abode at the tower Summit the space   became the Envy of the Paris Elite Eiffel received  countless offers to rent it out for large sums of   money but he refused them all he only ever  invited select scientific community members   into the room the most notable of which was Thomas  Edison who gifted Eiffel a sound recording device   the apartment is pretty traditional with plush  velvet chairs and patterned wallpaper it's cozy   and domestic aesthetic contrast sharply with its  location a small spiral staircase provided access   and an outdoor Terrace surrounds the entire  department you might say it's telling that Eiffel   located his private apartment directly above  the public observation deck showcasing what many   perceive to be a type of contrast between peasants  and nobility metaphorically speaking at least   anyhow this situation has led to some outrageous  speculation such as Eiffel using verticality to   assert his dominance over the public but if you  ask me that's probably just jealousy talking   anyhow the Eiffel Tower also served during the  first world war you see the French military   used the tower's radio and Telegraph Center to  communicate with ground troops and battleships   but it also intercepted enemy messages for example  in 1916 the tower picked up a message about a   female spy and using that captured information  the French military tracked down and arrested   the agent even today radio and Digital television  signals are transmitted from the Eiffel Tower in   fact a television antenna was first installed on  the tower in 1957 increasing its height by 18.7   meters work carried out in 2000 added a further  5.3 meters giving the current size 324 meters even   if analog television signals from the Eiffel Tower  ceased on March the 8th 2011. and it might be hard   to believe but the tower itself was supposed to be  let's say ceased only 20 years after construction   that's right the plan was to destroy the tower  however to remedy the situation Gustav Eiffel   had the ingenious idea of crediting it with a  scientific purpose you see from the presentation   of his project in 1886 Eiffel already knew that  only the tower's scientific uses could protect   it from its adversaries and prolong its lifespan  he therefore specified the tower's purpose for   meteorological and astronomical observations  physics experiments a strategic vantage point   an optical Telegraph Communications point and  a beacon for electric lighting and wind studies   Eiffel stated quote it will be for everyone an  observatory and a laboratory the likes of which   has never before been available to science  it is why from day one all of our scientists   have encouraged me with their utmost sympathies  indeed from 1889 the Eiffel Tower was used as a   laboratory for measurements and scientific  experiments with considerable scientific   apparatuses installed but the list goes on Eiffel  also had a passion for aerodynamics and carried   out a series of observations on gravity leading  to the installation from 1903 to 1905 of gravity   instruments he imagined quote an automatic  system that would slide along the length of   a cable stretched between the tower's second floor  and the ground he had a Wind Tunnel built at the   top floor of the Tower and for the month of August  1909 to December 1911 he carried out 5 000 trials   additionally Gustav Eiffel encouraged numerous  scientific experiments on the tower including a   pendulum a Mercury pressure gauge physiological  studies not to mention a radio contact which in   the end was a blessing you see it was the tower's  role as an enormous antenna that would save it   from destruction the Eiffel Tower was the world's  tallest structure until the Chrysler building was   built in New York in 1930 it weighs 10 000 tons  there are 5 billion lights on the Eiffel Tower   which has 108 stories with 1 710 steps allow me  to elaborate the Eiffel Tower comprises three   levels the first floor the second floor and the  summit also known as the top level the Summit is   primarily an observation area 276 meters above the  ground making it the highest observation deck in   Europe the first floor has Museum exhibits a glass  floor temporary exhibitions souvenir shops and   restaurants the second floor has more eateries and  shops plus an observation area now if you plan to   access the Eiffel Tower many bus routes stop there  many of which are clearly labeled Eiffel Tower   the Eiffel Tower has provided Paris with a unique  silhouette its striking shape makes it an icon   of the city and as many would say that Paris is  the birthplace of modern architecture the tower   itself might just prove that which says a lot  even when just considering how much American   architecture was inspired by that in Paris  but unfortunately the buildings in America   didn't serve a scientific purpose and hence in  the 1960s many of them were lost forever but   here on its history we work to revive their  legacy so don't miss our playlist Tales of   Urban Decay subscribe to the channel consider  supporting us by clicking join and if you have   episode ideas send it to my Instagram until  next time this is Ryan so cash signing off

Channel: IT'S HISTORY

Views: 1,132,778

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Id: iiKj5xN3I7c

Length: 16min 13sec (973 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 06 2022