Eiffel Tower In California example essay topic

Some may ask, "Why should the Eiffel Tower be recreated in California?" A good answer for this is why not? The Eiffel Tower is the one monument that can easily be identified internationally without the usage of words, only a picture of itself. Its beauty attracts around six million visitors each year; however, many Americans are unable to visit due to the fact that it is so far away. If it were recreated in California many more Americans would be able to visit and have the experience of visiting and learning about the towers, its creator, Gustave Eiffel, and France's history, but would also aid in helping scientists to continue to learn more about aerodynamics, meteorology, and radiotelegraphy just from visiting the tower, all while staying in their home country.

For example, many do not know that the Eiffel Tower was created not only for an entry to the Paris Exposition of 1889 to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution, but it was also created to house several experiments on aerodynamics, meteorology, and radiotelegraphy. The height and openness of the tower enabled experiments in meteorology and aerodynamics to be easily conducted. In fact, the first mercury barometer was invented due to experimentation at the Eiffel Tower (web). Basically, recreating the Eiffel Tower in California would not only enable Americans to visit the Eiffel tower and learn the towers, France's, and Gustave Eiffel's history, but would also aid in helping scientists to continue to learn more about aerodynamics, meteorology, and radiotelegraphy.

The original Eiffel Tower was constructed for the Paris Exposition of 1889 to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution. When the tower was completed it served as the entrance gateway to the exposition (web). It was built in the heart of Paris, France by Gustave Eiffel, assisted by engineers Maurice Koechlin et and Emile Nouguier and architect Stephen Sauve stre. Not only is the Eiffel Tower known for its beauty, it is also known for its short completion time of two years, two months, and five days from years 1887 to 1889. It is remarkable how advanced the field of engineering was at this time to be able to build what looked like such an intricate structure in such a short time. This was even done with only three hundred metal workers, which is not a lot of men to create such a large structure. (web) This all shows how the Eiffel Tower is a technological masterpiece in building-construction history.

The Eiffel tower is constructed out of puddle iron. The total metal structure weighs 10,100 tons and is constructed out of 2,500,000 rivets and 18,038 steel pieces (web). It is painted every seven years and takes 50 tons of dark-brown paint. The tower is 300 meters tall, about 986 ft, has a base of 412 square feet, or about 2.5 acres, and has 1665 stairs (web). The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world until the Chrysler Building was built in New York City in 1930. (web). The tower was constructed with Eiffel's advanced engineering skills dealing with the behavior of metal arch and truss forms under loading.

Because of this he was able to design an airy structure that did not weigh an astronomical amount, while still holding strong under all natural forces. The tower stands on four semicircular lattice-girder arches that actually do not serve any structural function, they are purely just for artistic looks (see appendix A). Eiffel designed elevators to ascend on a curve up these semicircular piers. The Otis Elevator Company of the United States designed special glass-cage cars to ascend and descend the curved girders. These became one of the principal features of the building that attracted tourists from throughout the world (web). At the top of the arches is the first observatory platform.

Above this where the tower comes together to make the main length of the thin, rectangular tower that is the second platform. Here an extremely expensive restaurant is housed, the Jules Verne. The top platform has a bar, souvenir shop and Gustave Eiffel's newly restored office (web). The Eiffel Tower has witnessed some strange scenes in its lifetime.

In 1954 it was scaled by a mountaineer, and was parachuted off of in 1984 by two Englishmen. In 1923 a journalist rode a bicycle down from the first level (web). Some accounts say that he rode it down the stairs while others state that he rode down the exterior of one of the towers four legs. The tower has also been the site of many suicide attempts. Why were these people drawn to the tower to complete these extraordinary feats? It was probably because of how the Eiffel Tower stands above the city, beckoning some to try and test its limits.

Others might be drawn toward it by its intricate metal work and beauty. We may never know the answer to this question but we do know that it is the towers beauty that draws people from all over the world just to come and visit it. The Eiffel Tower was not always thought to be a beautiful, artistic piece of work. In fact on February 14, 1887, just after work was begun on the structure an article titled "Protest against the tower of Monsieur Eiffel" was published in the newspaper Le Temps. Many big names of the world of literature and the arts had comments against the tower published. Leon Blog wrote that he thought the tower was a " truly tragic street lamp", Paul Verlaine called it a "belfry skeleton", and Francois Cope e stated that the tower was a "mast of iron gymnasium apparatus, incomplete, confused and deformed".

Maupassant, who some may say had the worst opinion of all critics of the tower, was quoted as saying, "this high and skinny pyramid of iron ladders, this giant ungainly skeleton upon a base that looks built to carry a colossal monument of Cyclops, but which just peters out into a ridiculous thin shape like a factory chimney". (web) Through all of this criticism it is a miracle that Eiffel did not get discouraged and discontinue construction. Instead he continued what he set out to build; he constructed one of the most recognizable monuments in the world. Gustave Eiffel was a genius of his time. After being unable to enter Ecole Polytechnique, the most prestigious math and science school in the world, because he failed a final exam at his first college, College Sainte Barbe, Eiffel decided to find work elsewhere. He got a job with Charles Na peau, which was the head of a company, which manufactured steam engines and railway track. After merging with a Belgian railway equipment-manufacturing firm the General Railway Equipment Company was formed.

Although Eiffel had never constructed a bridge before, his first assignment was to oversee several hundred workmen over the construction of the bridge at Garonne. It was on this project that Eiffel's true genius first shone through, as well as his heroic abilities. Quickly Eiffel realized that this project was not going to be completed on time since the piles supporting the bridge had to be sunk in eighty feet of rushing water. Working sixteen hours a day trying to sink the piles with excavation, Eiffel realized that a new method had to be designed. He carefully plotted each detail and devised a way to sink the piles without excavation which saved weeks of precious labor. The bridge was completed ahead of time due to Eiffel's pure genius.

Gustave Eiffel had plans other than to just design the tower for the entry to the Paris Exposition of 1889. Angered at Bismarck's cruelty to Paris in the spring of 1871 by cutting its people off from the world, Eiffel vowed that this type of incident would never reoccur. Eiffel claimed that if France should ever again be occupied by a foreign power, from his tower Paris would continue to communicate with the world by radio signals (Spiering, 1986, p. 93). Gustave Eiffel also designed parts of the tower to aid in scientific exploration. He designed the peak of the tower to act as an observation station to measure the speed of wind. By encouraging several scientific experiments that occurred at the observation station, the first mercury barometer was created (web).

The tower was also used to house an antenna for telegraphy at that time. In 1909 the tower was almost torn down; according to the terms of the concession awarded by the City of Paris, the tower was only to stand for twenty years. But Eiffel was determined to keep it standing by proving its importance. He did this by using it as a massive tower to study meteorology, radiotelegraphy, and aerodynamics. Eiffel even designed a small wind tunnel at the foot of the tower in 1909 to study aerodynamics.

Because of the importance of Eiffel's studies, the City of Paris decided to let the Eiffel Tower remain standing (web). The Eiffel tower was later used to house an antenna for French radio beginning in 1918, and French television since 1957 (web). Still today it is used both for radio and television transmission. If the Eiffel Tower were to be reconstructed today in California it would probably still take about two years to complete. This is because it is such an intricate structure and even with our modern day machinery will still take time to make sure every rivet connecting each piece is in place. It would be recommended to be reconstructed with steel since it is such a durable material, more durable than puddle iron, and will ensure that the tower will last for many years.

It is also relatively inexpensive. In 1998 steel varied in price from around $. 60/kg up to $3.30 for the strongest type of steel, steel alloy 4340. (Callister, 2000, p. 818) If an average grade is used the total cost of the tower would be estimated around two million dollars since in 1889 the cost was 6,500,000 francs or about 975,000 dollars including the consideration of inflation. (Loyrette, 1985, p. 121) There really is no alternative today for the steel since steel is one of the strongest metals and is the most cost effective except for using a more expensive alloy to ensure strength. Another reason why the Eiffel Tower should be recreated in California over any other world famous historical structure is because it is one of the few that would be able to withstand the stresses of earthquakes, a natural disaster very common to California.

This is possible with the Eiffel Tower's structure because of the elastic properties of iron and the openness of the tower that allows for movement. The tower's maximum sway in the wind is only 12 centimeters, and it increases / decreases 15 centimeters depending on the outside temperature (web). Since this structure can adapt so well to its environment it would also do well with the vibrations created by earthquakes. Also, the iron is able to expand due to temperature change, which does fluctuate throughout the seasons in California. It also helps that the structure has a 2.5 square acre base so if any large cracks would appear, none would be large enough to cause the four legs of the tower to become so unstable that the tower would topple.

The best strategy to complete this project would be to first find some qualified engineers who will be able to study Gustave Eiffel's work and learn how he constructed the structure. Then a site must be proposed that is in a good location so that it is convenient for tourists. A good site would be one around a commercial district where hotels, restaurants, and shopping are located close by. Next proper funding must be worked out, whether it is all from one person and or a portion from bank loans. Finally, a construction company must be decided upon. Once this is done construction may begin.

Advertising may be considered to let people around the world know that this replica is being created so that upon completion there will be a large tourist draw. After the two years estimated time it will be well worth all the hard work when America can view its own Eiffel Tower right in one of its own 50 states, California. Without the construction of the original Eiffel Tower in Paris, France's many discoveries in aerodynamics, meteorology, and radiotelegraphy would not have been possible. The tower also represents great architectural and engineering development, which was considered ahead of its time in 1889 when the tower was built. Beauty is also represented in the construction of the tower with its unique openness and size. Overall, the tower is a great technological advancement, which can be recognized around the world by a picture alone, so why not bring it to America?

Bibliography

Callister, W.D. Jr. (2000).
Materials Science and Engineering. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Eiffel Tower. Retrieved October 8, 2000, from the World Wide Web: web Eiffel Tower Web Page.
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Gustave Eiffel. New York: Rizzoli International Publications Inc. The official site of the Eiffel Tower. Retrieved October 8, 2000, from the World Wide Web: web The official site of Paris.
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