~-<oOo>-~ PARIS!
~-<oOo>-~ ~-<oOo>-~ We've finally arrived in Paris! We plan to do quite a bit of sightseeing. We may grow tired, but you can always rest on the Unsinkable Ship, The Titanic afterwards. ~-<oOo>-~ ~-<oOo>-~ EIFFEL TOWER. There is no more
famous landmark in the world than the Eiffel Tower. It announces to all
who see it: This is Paris. Not only does it dominate the skyline of Paris,
but it is also a landmark of building construction history. When the French government was
organizing the Centennial Exposition of 1889, a fair to commemorate the
100th anniversary of the French Revolution, the noted bridge engineer Alexandre-Gustave
Eiffel was asked to design and build a structure to symbolize the occasion.
His finished product aroused both praise and criticism and a good deal
of amazement. Nothing like it had ever been
built. It is a 984-foot (300-meter) tower of open-lattice wrought iron.
Not until the Chrysler Building was completed in New York City in 1930
was there a taller structure in the world. The base of the tower consists
of four semicircular arches, inspired by both artistic design and weight-bearing
engineering considerations. Glass-walled elevators, designed by the Otis
Elevator Company, ascend on a curve up the legs of the tower to the first
and second platforms. Two new pairs of counterbalanced elevators go from
the second level to the third platform near the top. From this platform
the view extends for 50 miles (80 kilometers) on a clear day. After the 1889 fair closed,
Eiffel realized that the only way to save his monument would be to find
new and profitable uses for it. He supervised changes to accommodate a
meteorological station in 1890, a military telegraph station in 1903, and
a laboratory for studying aerodynamics in 1909. Further modifications were
made for the expositions of 1900, 1925, and 1937. Additions made for television
transmission added about 66 feet (20 meters) to the height. For many years the Eiffel Tower
was in the hands of a public firm, but in 1981 the government of the city
of Paris took over its management. In the years 1981 to 1983 the tower
underwent extensive renovation and reconstruction in preparation for its
100th anniversary in 1989. The renovation, costing about 40 million dollars,
stripped off the paint down to the girders, removed the excess weight of
structures on the upper levels, and built new lighter-weight facilities
for visitors. On the first level are three
glass-enclosed structures. One is a museum, the Cinemax, which shows films
about the tower. The central structure consists of two levels, each of
which has a restaurant: Le Parisien on the lower and La Belle France on
the upper. The third facility is the Salle (hall) Gustave Eiffel, which
provides space for business conferences, expositions, cultural events,
and social gatherings. On the smaller second level
there is a souvenir shop and a snack bar. From this level it is possible
to get an excellent view of Paris without the need to ascend to the top. --------------------------------------------------------- Excerpted from Compton's Interactive
Encyclopedia Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996
SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved ~-<oOo>-~ ~-<oOo>-~
Eiffel Tower -- Paris, France
~-<oOo>-~ ~-<oOo>-~
Victoria, Sam, and Nebbie Washington at
the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, France.
~-<oOo>-~ ~-<oOo>-~
Mickey and Tina Gelan, and Jeni DiCaprio
at the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, France.
