The Eiffel Tower, or as the French call it, "La Tour Eiffel", is the last metal construction from the 1887 exhibition. From top to bottom the Eiffel tower is a naked construction showing its rivets and seams proudly. Work on the Eiffel Tower began on January 28, 1887. With new techniques for metal construction the Eiffel Tower was completed in 26 months. The only complaints about it were directed at its starkness. The Parisian skyline is forever changed by this tower of steel. Three hundred meters tall when finished, it dominated the landscape of Paris. Later a telecommunications antenna was added to raise the tower's height to almost 350 meters (620 feet). The
was the tallest building in the world until 1930 when the Chrysler building was built. The Eiffel Tower was built to commemorate the French Revolution. A competition was held for designs for a suitable monument. More than 100 plans were submitted, but only three were picked. The final choice was a difficult one to make, but it was finally decided and the spot was chosen. Conceived by Gustave Alexandre Eiffel, who was an accomplished bridge engineer, the towers' designs were sent in to the Centennial Committee. The reply came not more than a month later, they were to build the tower. Work on the actual tower began more than five months after the designs were accepted. Progress was very fast, and by August of 1887 the first section had been completed. Throughout the building of the tower, complaints flowed in about its aesthetic value. Making use of new techniques, the rest of the tower was finished with a minimum of time and money. The four semicircular arches that made the tower's base were dictated by Gustaves artistic sense. The curve of the trusses required the elevators to ascend on a curve. The elevators made by a U. S manufacturer became one of the principal features of the tower. Three platforms at different heights are reached by stairs and elevators. On the top of the tower are a meteorological station and a wireless station. The Eiffel Tower was the first of its kind. Preceding towers had tried to copy Greek architecture instead of being original. The Eiffel tower began a revolution in civil engineering and architectural design.
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