51x03 - Building the Eiffel Tower

[bunniefuu]

♪ ♪

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NARRATOR: The Eiffel
Tower... an engineering icon

that changed the face
of the modern world.

The Eiffel Tower is not only
an achievement of its time,

it's also a symbol of
our contemporary world.

Skyscrapers,

tall structures,
wouldn't be there today

if it wasn't for
the Eiffel Tower.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Nothing like it
had ever been built before...

a totally novel design,

an unprecedented height,

built in record time.

♪ ♪

What made it possible?

What were the secrets of
Eiffel and his engineers?

How did the properties
of a modern material

allow them to build
such a unique structure,

one that could rise
so fast and so high?

BERTRAND LEMOINE: For
Eiffel, the tower is really the product

of 30 years of innovation
and experience.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Researchers
are retracing Eiffel's career

building metal structures
around the world

that pushed the
limits again and again.

This is the story

of a one-of-a-kind
engineering adventure.

"Building the Eiffel Tower,"

right now, on "NOVA."

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NARRATOR: March 31, 1889.

An important day for
engineer Gustave Eiffel

and for France,

as he raises the French
flag 1,024 feet above ground

at the top of the tower
that bears his name,

the tallest structure
in the world.

LEMOINE: And you
can imagine he was

probably full of
a sense of pride:

pride for himself,

pride for his team, who
had built this monument,

and pride for France,

because it was the highest
monument in the world

which had been erected
right in the heart of Paris.

NARRATOR: Even today,
the size and height of the tower

is almost shocking
against the Parisian skyline.

So where did such a strange
idea come from in the first place?

♪ ♪

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Surprisingly, the concept
for the Eiffel Tower

did not come from
Gustave Eiffel himself.

♪ ♪

In 1884, just five years
before the tower's inauguration,

two of Eiffel's best engineers,

Émile Nouguier and
Maurice Koechlin,

have an idea.

What if they could
build a monument

for the coming
World's Fair in Paris?

The engineers draw
the first few sketches

of a unique metal pylon
that could rise above the city...

a tower made of
iron 1,000 feet tall.

♪ ♪

At first, their boss
is unimpressed.

The tower they designed
would be inaccessible to visitors,

and he doesn't
find it attractive.

MICHEL CARMONA [translated]:
Eiffel doesn't seem interested in this idea

until the Paris municipality
and the French government,

represented by the minister of
commerce, Édouard Lockroy,

decide to launch an
unofficial appeal for ideas.

It's not a competition,
it's a request for projects.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: A few weeks later,
in-house architect Stephen Sauvestre

adds decorative arcs to
the original pylon sketch,

as well as platforms
for public use.

As the tower becomes
less of a passive landmark,

but a structure people
can actually use,

Eiffel gets excited
by the project.

♪ ♪

But many obstacles remain.

Even if their design is chosen,

they will need to
raise millions of francs

and figure out how
to actually assemble

such an enormous iron
structure of unprecedented height.

♪ ♪

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Today, there are
countless structures

that rise higher.

In China, the famous
Shanghai Tower

is more than twice
as tall, at 2,073 feet.

And in Dubai,

the Burj Khalifa is
almost three times as tall,

at 2,717 feet.

But at the time,

a thousand-foot
tower made of iron

seemed like utter fantasy.

Eiffel's tower is expected to
be more than four times higher

than the towers of Notre-Dame,

more than double the height
of the Great Pyramid of Giza,

and almost twice as high as
the Washington Monument,

at the time the tallest
human-built structure

in the world, at 555 feet.

♪ ♪

Since the early 19th century,

several architects
had been attempting

to break height records...

whether in France, in England,

or in the United States.

These lofty plans expressed

the optimism and
aspirations of the century,

a time of relentless
industrialization.

But there was a reason why
none of them had ever been built.

LEMOINE: Building high,

higher than the
pyramids of Egypt,

higher than the
cathedrals in Europe,

was really a goal which
could be only achieved

by using the modern technology

provided by the
Industrial Revolution.

So the idea was in the air.

The idea was around.

But to have an
idea is a good thing,

but to achieve
it is even better.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: One of the first
engineering decisions in any building

is what materials to use.

Eiffel knows that
in order to go high,

the materials must be light.

Limestone, used in
many Parisian buildings,

is far too heavy for
such a tall structure.

The only viable option is iron.

But in what form?

At the time, Eiffel
had three choices.

The first: cast iron,

a material with relatively
good compressive strength,

meaning it resists heavy loads.

But because it
contains a lot of carbon,

it has poor tensile strength.

Used as a girder,

it is susceptible to bending
or cracking under tension.

♪ ♪

Steel, by contrast,
has less carbon,

giving it excellent
tensile strength

and compressive strength.

But it is costly and not yet
widely available in the 1880s.

Luckily, there's a third option,

referred to as wrought iron.

It is produced in a furnace

that almost completely
filters out carbon impurities.

♪ ♪

It isn't as strong as steel,

but it is a highly
reliable material,

also with high compressive
and tensile strength.

It is both tough and flexible,

and has the advantage
of being affordable

and readily available.

♪ ♪

For Eiffel and his engineers,
there is no hesitation:

wrought iron is the
material of choice.

Eiffel had good
confidence in this material.

When you build 300-meters-high
tower, the highest in the world,

well, you want to use

a material with which you have
a very strong habit of building,

which is reliable.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Eiffel's confidence
comes from his long experience

working with wrought iron,

including one of his
most successful projects,

the Garabit Viaduct.

This is where one of
Eiffel's biggest achievements

still stands today.

[train horn blows]

Perched 400 feet
above the Truyère River,

the viaduct was built in


when the project
for the Eiffel Tower

was first conceived.

At the time, taking on a
challenge of this magnitude

was unprecedented.

[Patricia Vergne
Rochès speaking French]

[translated]: You need to imagine
that when this place was built

at the end of the 19th century,
there was absolutely nothing.

The first step was
to build a small village

where the workers
could be housed

during the construction.

Construction lasted four years.

The first phase was
devoted to the masonry

and the second to
the metal structure.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: The
engineering problem was

how to build a bridge
almost 2,000 feet long



LEMOINE: To build this bridge,

Eiffel performs an act of pure
audacity. [computer chirps]

He uses an innovative
technique known as cantilevering,

which requires building
the arch and the deck

from both sides
at the same time.

The central part
of the bridge is built

using the pylons
as support points.

Then cables hold the
two halves of the arch

until their junction
at the central part,



This requires extreme precision

both in fabrication and
assembly of the elements.

Eiffel declared that
they achieved that

with mathematical precision.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: The construction
of the Garabit Viaduct

required precise
planning and fabrication.

But most importantly,

its success was made
possible by wrought iron,

a material which allowed
construction of a light

yet very strong structure,
able to support heavy loads

while resisting strong winds.

This experience would
prove extremely valuable.

♪ ♪

With the material chosen,
the next question was,

how would such a structure
behave aerodynamically?

As a tapered, vertical
structure 1,000 feet tall,

the design had to withstand
variable wind speeds

that would change at
each level along its height.

Those winds were
not well understood,

and when calculating
the tower's aerodynamics,

Eiffel and his engineers
only had theory to guide them.

♪ ♪

But this wind tunnel,
which Eiffel built in Paris


tower's completion,

today offers a
unique opportunity

to understand the wind forces

he and his engineers
had tried to calculate.

BENOÎT ROMAN [translated]: At
the time of the Eiffel Tower project,

the highest structure was
the Washington Monument,

which is half the size
of the Eiffel Tower

and built in masonry.

That construction
took several decades,

as the ground
underneath kept sinking.

Eiffel's idea was to use a
completely different material,

to switch to metals,

which solved the weight issue.

But then they faced
a new problem: wind.

NARRATOR: Here, physicist
Benoît Roman compares the effects

of wind on two models:

a straight tower on one side

and the Eiffel
Tower on the other.

ROMAN [translated]: So here we
have a wind speed of ten miles per hour.

We see very clearly
that the straight tower

is bending much more
than the Eiffel Tower,

which shows its higher rigidity

and wind resistance,

even though they're
the same height

and have the same
quantity of materials.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: So, why does
the Eiffel Tower resist wind

so much more effectively?

Iron is a flexible material,

so the great height
of the structure

makes it vulnerable
to large wind forces.

But with this unusual shape,

the force of the wind and
of the tower's own weight

naturally directs the
resulting force downward,

following the
curves of the tower.

[translated]: This is the best
shape imaginable for wind resistance.

It has the elegance of
a mathematical solution.

It's truly optimal.

NARRATOR: And history has
proven that this entirely novel design

was the right one to
stand the test of time.

[thunder crashing]

During the great storm of 1999,

a record-breaking wind
speed of 134 miles per hour

was recorded at the top,

and the tower stood strong.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Eiffel has
just received good news.

After months of negotiations,

his iron tower has won
the official competition

for the World's Fair
gateway monument

and construction has finally

been given the go-ahead.

The site will be on the bank

of the Seine River,

where it will be allowed

to stand for 20 years.

LEMOINE: So the
World's Fair had a very

important signification
in the time, politically,

of course, to show
one country's strengths,

but also to show

what the industry could deliver,

and how everyday life could be
changed by these new products.

NARRATOR: For Eiffel's company,

it's the beginning of
a race against time,

a race that will test
all the talent and skill

of the country's
best engineers...

to produce sketches for each
of the tower's 18,038 pieces...

and a plan to assemble
more than 8,000 tons of iron,

through summer and
winter, rain and snow.

♪ ♪

After months of preparation,

the tower's construction
can finally begin.

But being so close to the river

means the soil is
soaked with water.

How to build the foundation
for the world's tallest building

on such potentially
unstable terrain?

Once again,

Eiffel looks to his own
experience for the solution.

♪ ♪

This bridge was
inaugurated in 1860.

It's the first major
iron structure

Gustave Eiffel worked on
as a construction manager.

The idea was to
build a railway bridge

across the wide and
turbulent Garonne River.

MYRIAM LARNAUDIE-EIFFEL
[translated]: For the young Gustave Eiffel,

this bridge is the
chance of a lifetime.

He knows he's competing
with another engineer,

who's building a similar
bridge in Strasbourg,

and he really
needs to do better,

faster, and cheaper.

So he decides to
standardize his parts.

The construction
gets more efficient,

less costly, and he
ends up winning the race,

building a decidedly
modern bridge.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: The biggest
obstacle was building the piers,

or support structures,
anchored in the river.

The question was:

how do you build a
foundation 80 feet underwater?

[computer chirps]

LEMOINE: Eiffel
implements a new technique

discovered through his first
employer, Charles Nepveu.

It involves large cast-iron
tubes, 3.6 meters in diameter.

The lower part rests
on the bottom level

and the upper part is
above the water level.

It is divided into
three chambers.

The lower chamber
is pressurized,

constantly fed by
compressed air,

and it allows workers
to work on a dry bed.

The middle section is
a decompression sas,

and the upper
section is open-air

to allow evacuation
of the rubble.

This innovative technique,

which ensured fast
completion of the foundations,

is a key factor in
the construction

of the Eiffel Tower.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: In the
middle of the Paris winter,

the work begins.

Soon, around 500 workers
gather to dig the foundation

of the tower's north
and west pillars,

the nearest to the Seine.

Piece by piece,
just like in Bordeaux,

large watertight metal
boxes are assembled

which will form the pressurized
chambers, or caissons,

to allow construction
of the foundation

to be protected from flooding.

♪ ♪

Then the project
encounters a serious problem.

FLORENCE ALLORENT [translated]: When
the pressurized air chambers come into use,

workers develop
an unknown illness.

They report tingling
sensations, bleeding,

difficulty breathing,

and partial paralysis.

No one understands
the cause of this ailment,

nor the importance of
making decompression stops

when coming back to the surface.

NARRATOR: Today, the
illness is known as the bends,

or caisson disease.

Inside the caisson, much
like underwater divers,

workers breathe air
at a high pressure.

But if they return to
the surface too quickly,

and the pressure
drops rapidly as a result,

nitrogen bubbles
can form in their blood,

causing decompression sickness.

Nobody understands
what is happening.

Even the government is concerned
about the potential danger.

[translated]: In April 1887,

the minister of commerce
and industry decides

to go down himself
into the foundations,

and he comes back up alive.

LEMOINE: It was a
demonstration that the caisson

was not so harmful,

and it was not a
problem which could delay

the construction of the tower.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
Despite the discomfort,

work resumes until
the piers are in place.

Soon, solid masonry
rises from the foundations

to support the metal structures
at the bottom of the tower.

Now they can begin the ironwork.

One by one,

the fabricators melt, cut,
trim, and drill the future tower's


exact specifications.

For the assembly method to work,

millimeter precision
is absolutely crucial

from start to finish.

LEMOINE: The Eiffel
Tower is kind of complex.

But when you look at
it closely, it's only made

with sections in
the shape of T, L, U.

So you can see that
the very simple parts

used in the Eiffel
Tower, combined

in the complex structure,

can achieve the highest
monument in the world.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Horse-drawn carts
deliver the prefabricated components

to the construction site
on the Champ de Mars.

Six months after the
start of construction,

four 54-degree inclined pillars,

each composed of four
large assembled tubes,

called trusses, rise
from the ground.

So far, all the pieces
fit together as designed.

But how do the engineers ensure
that nothing moves out of place?

Once more, Eiffel
calls on lessons learned

building another
famous structure.

♪ ♪

In these Parisian workshops,

France built another monument
which remains just as iconic:

the Statue of Liberty.

And under its skin
lies one of the secrets

to the Eiffel Tower's
structural strength.

♪ ♪

In 1870, renowned French
sculptor Auguste Bartholdi

imagines a 300-foot-high
statue in the form of a woman,

celebrating the signing

of the U.S. Declaration
of Independence.

DARCY GRIMALDO GRIGSBY:
Certainly, monumentality has a long history

prior to the 19th century.

But the notion of
creating the colossal

is so profoundly a
modern ambition.

And Bartholdi began his
thoughts about the Statue of Liberty

in Egypt... he was making
terra-cotta little models.

But when it's about realizing,

he has to turn sculpture
into a modern phenomenon.

Um, the reason it
can be that gigantic

is that it's hollow.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Tall and
in the shape of a person,

yet hollow.

How does this
structure hold together?

It's 6:00 a.m. in New York City.

Before thousands
of visitors arrive,

ranger Matt Housch leads
the way on an exclusive tour

into the heart of the statue.

The similarities
with the Eiffel Tower

are easy to spot.

♪ ♪

HOUSCH: What's most
impressive about the interior

of the Statue of Liberty is
how all of this iron and steel

works together to hold her over


Over 100 years of wind and rain,

and she still stands because
of this interior structure.

NARRATOR: After the
teams riveted together

the internal
structure's iron beams,

they next installed a
secondary structure,

made out of
hundreds of iron bars.

On top of these bars, they
attached the copper skin,

piece by piece.

And the secret to these
layers holding together

is in one simple but incredibly
effective solution: rivets.

The inside of the
Statue of Liberty

can be a disorienting place.

But what you are seeing
are hundreds of copper plates.

So that's the dark
metal that you see

all along the interior
here... that's her skin.

And those copper plates were
all riveted together with thousands

of little copper rivets,

but the copper skin
has to be held up,

so we can see there's
thousands of steel bars

connect the copper plates
to the secondary iron bars,

and all of those iron
bars connect back here

to this iron pylon.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Building
high, building light,

and building strong:

mastering the art of riveting
for the Statue of Liberty

would prove crucial
for years to come.

♪ ♪

Today, rivets are not common.

High-strength bolts
are more often used

to attach large
steel components.

But in Gonesse, north of Paris,

a few highly skilled
workers still practice

the efficient assembly
technique of riveting.

[speaking French]:

Okay.

NARRATOR: In this workshop,

Eiffel-style beams are
sometimes produced

to restore old structures.

♪ ♪

These rivets are pins,

but unlike bolts, they
don't have threads or nuts.

Instead they are
heated, softened,

and custom-fit into place.

[tool whirring]

The first step is for a worker

to heat the rivet
in a small furnace

and then place it in
the assembly hole.

A worker holds the
rivet's head in place,

while another uses a hammer

to crush the emerging end.

As it cools, the rivet retracts

between the two pieces of steel.

♪ ♪

The technique might
look straightforward,

but during the
construction of the tower,

teams of four riveters
worked up to 12 hours per day

in highly dangerous conditions.

On average, workers installed
fewer than 1,700 rivets each day

out of a total of
two-and-a-half million.

It was really a long,
a bit tedious process,

but very strong, which
could last, of course,

for a long time.

And if the tower
is still there today,

it's also because

its way of assembling
its parts was very efficient.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Hundreds of
workers are now giving their all

to meet the deadline.

And the construction
progress is impressive,

with the metallic structure

rising fast to the
incessant beat of hammers.

[hammers clanging]

As the tower grows,

lifting thousands
of tons of iron

to greater and greater heights

becomes increasingly difficult.

But Eiffel has an
innovative solution:

placing mobile
steam-powered cranes

attached to each
of the tower's legs.

[computer chirps]

LEMOINE: These 15-ton cranes,

installed on sloping
and then vertical rails

that will later be
reused by the elevators,

drive the progress
of the building site.

Eiffel's cranes are steerable,

have a range up to 12 meters

and a lifting
capacity of three tons.

They will contribute
to the success

of this colossal project.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: The legs
of the tower are now

rising above the
Parisian skyline.

So far, no major disasters.

None of the workers have died,

the foundations are not sinking,

and the structure stands strong.

♪ ♪

But it's still early days.

The real test will come
during the next stage:

joining the legs
and constructing

the tower's
second-level platform,

to support the huge
tower that will rise above.

♪ ♪

Turning hand-drawn
designs into forged pieces

and then finally
bringing them together

to connect perfectly.

It's a pivotal moment
for the engineers.

♪ ♪

But how to ensure the
tower and the platform

will remain level and true?

Once again, Eiffel and his
team prove extremely inventive.

[computer chirps]

Eiffel designed two devices:

sandboxes, an ancient
technique used by the Egyptians,

and hydraulic jacks,

to help level out the
position of the piles.

To push them up slightly

just to adjust
the final position

and the junction
of the four pillars.

In addition,

sandboxes were placed
at the top of the scaffolding,

between the box girders,
and to adjust them,

just simply drill a hole
and let the sand flow out.

By combining sandboxes
and hydraulic jacks,

the exact position of the holes

drilled in the horizontal
girders and in the box girders

to adjust precisely
the first platform.

And this was really
the crucial event

of the construction
of the tower.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Finally, the
main platform's last rivet is set.

♪ ♪

After years of work,
months of uncertainty,

the construction's most
delicate step is now complete.

The tower finally
stands on its own,

aligned to support what
will now rise above it.

♪ ♪

The most difficult phase
has been completed,

but there is still
just over a year left

to build about 700 feet.

As winter wears on,
Eiffel hits a rough patch.

His construction has been
hindered by the weather

and tarnished by
considerable backlash.

♪ ♪

LEMOINE: You have
a very strong criticism

by eminent artists of the time,

writers like Maupassant,
architects like Charles Garnier,

the architect of the
new opera in Paris.

Intimately,

I'm sure it, it
was a bit, uh, uh,

shock, or maybe a harm for him,

not to be felt understood

as really doing something
exceptional for its time.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Eiffel is determined
to turn public opinion around.

His business may be engineering,

but he also understands the
importance of public relations.

♪ ♪

A few months later,
Eiffel has an unusual idea:

organize a special banquet
at the tower's second level.

He's hoping everyone
will finally understand

that this project isn't just
an engineering challenge,

it's a unique and
timeless work of art.

[metal tapping glass]

Right in the middle
of the construction site,

tables have been set to welcome
a select crew of journalists.

[guests applauding]

And it works.

According to "The
New York Herald,"

the guests are dazzled.

♪ ♪

It appears that the
road to success is clear.

At least for now.

Step by step, the
construction continues.

Following the second floor,

the tower's third
floor comes together,



These X-shaped structures
may appear decorative,

but they serve an
important function.

Why include this feature?

The answer comes
down to the fundamentals

of structural engineering.

When held by a single diagonal,

a structure is vulnerable

to the horizontal
force of the wind,

depending on
where it comes from.

But with two diagonals,

the structure resists
horizontal force more effectively.

As one cross-brace
is pushed or pulled,

the other resists in
the opposite direction,

maintaining the
structure's stability.

LEMOINE: In all
Eiffel structures,

you can find these
cross-shape sections

to brace the elements,
vertical and horizontal.

Very typical of
Eiffel construction,

but also of the iron
construction of its time.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: This principle was
long used in wood construction,

but Eiffel was the first
one who used it extensively

in metal construction.

It became a key to his method,

whether in the tower,
in the Garabit Viaduct,

or the Statue of Liberty.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Since the
start of the construction,

Eiffel knows that
time pressure is high.

So he takes pains to
treat the workers well.

ALLORENT [translated]: Carpenters were
the best paid, earning 80 cents an hour.

Fitters and riveters,


And laborers, known
as the mousses,



They were paid almost
twice as much as workers

on other Parisian
construction sites at the time.

NARRATOR: But as the
structure narrows towards the top,

the workers go on strike,

and Eiffel's busy building
site grinds to a halt.

ALLORENT [translated]: They
work at ever greater heights.

In response to their
complaints about this danger,

Eiffel replies that there's
no more danger at 1,000 feet

than at 100 feet.

So he tells his workers
to get back to work,

warning them that if they
don't punch in the next morning,

they'll be fired.

NARRATOR: When only 27
workers show up the following morning,

Eiffel quickly does the math.

♪ ♪

If the strike continues,
even just for a few days,

the tower might not be completed
on time for the World's Fair.

♪ ♪

LEMOINE: If the
tower would be, uh,

completed after the
opening of the exhibition,

it would be a
major failure for him,

for himself, but
also for France.

[speaking French]

[translated]: Eiffel gives in.

He offers the workers

a gradual increase
of five cents a month

until December.

And for those who
climb the highest,

he adds a 100-franc bonus
upon completion of the work,

plus warm clothes
to face the winter.

NARRATOR: By the time
construction begins again,

the deadline for
completion looms.

♪ ♪

Following the end of the
strike, which lasted a week,

the tower reaches 557 feet,

becoming the tallest
structure on Earth.

From now on,
progress will be faster.

The structure is
thinner at the top

and requires fewer
parts to assemble.

The tower now grows by
more than three feet each day.

By March 15, 1889,

the fourth upper level
is almost complete.

But there is still
much left to do.

Painting the tower,

setting up the lighthouse
and the lighting system,

and, last but not least,

installing the
elevator trolleys.

From the start, the city's
specifications were clear.

If the tower was to
be 1,000 feet high,

it should be
accessible to the public.

And that meant elevators.

But how to power them,

especially in such a tall and
unusually shaped structure?

♪ ♪

In this space,
located right below

one of the tower's pillars,

Eiffel built a
one-of-a-kind elevator

based on the same technology
he used to level the tower:

hydraulic pressure.

[translated]: In


was already used to
move the elevators.

NARRATOR: Behind
this complex set of tubes

is a somewhat simple idea.

Water is pressured from a
first cylinder into a second one.

This generates a big
push at the other end,

where the pressure is released.

This move is translated
into a series of pulleys

that stretch cables
to allow the elevator

to move up and down.

♪ ♪

ROSEC [translated]: From


underneath the elevators
in the pilot's cabin,

and this person had
a big steering wheel.

When the pilot was
steering the elevator,

the passengers depended on
the smoothness of his movements.

If he opened up
the throttle quickly,

the elevator would sh**t up.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: But Eiffel's
promise was to take visitors

to the tower's very top.

[camera whirring]

For that purpose, he built
another set of elevators

between the third
and fourth floors.

♪ ♪

[computer chirps]

LEMOINE: An ingenious system

of two cabins
connected by a cable

ensure the transport to the top,

thanks to an 80-meters-course
hydraulic piston.

When the piston
pushes at the lower cabin,

up to 80 meters,

the upper cabin
goes down 80 meters.

At halfway,

visitors pass from
one cabin to another

on a platform which offers
an impressive view over Paris.

And then the other
cabin continue its ascent.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Today, the tower's
elevators remain a testament

to Eiffel's bold
sense of innovation.

But they weren't ready for
the opening of the World's Fair,

so the first visitors

would have to climb
to the top on foot.

[wind howling]

Just over a month before
the World's Fair inauguration,

the tower's construction
is finally complete.

And it has officially become

the tallest building
in the world.

♪ ♪

For Eiffel and his team,

this success is the result of
more than five years of work.

♪ ♪

But the monument would
be more than just impressive.

It would be striking...
even colorful.

♪ ♪

Since its construction,

the Eiffel Tower has
received 19 layers of paint

to protect it from corrosion,

an average of once
every seven years.

♪ ♪

Today's Eiffel Tower
has a different color

than it did on opening day.

To better understand the
history of the tower's coloration,

heritage restorers Claire
Dandrel and Annick Texier

are examining the layers of
pigment that cover the iron.

DANDREL [translated]:
Here's my incision,

which should be pretty good.

Now I'll sand it.

On this beveled cut I just made,

I place my device,

which is very small
and very precious.

It's a digital field microscope

connected to my computer,

and Annick checks the
image from the microscope.

Looks good.

[translated]: Yeah,
you're pretty much

in the middle there.

You just have to focus.

NARRATOR: These
photos will be used

to document the history
of the tower's painting.

[translated]: We see all
the stratigraphic layers,

meaning all the colored
layers on the metal...

the metal of the tower.

Here we see black
with metal chips.

On this metal, we can
see a bright red layer.

This is Eiffel's first
preparation layer.

[translated]: When
it was constructed.

[translated]: At that time,
red was the protection layer.

It was applied in the workshop

as the metal parts
were manufactured,

and added as the tower
was being assembled.

NARRATOR: The
conclusions are surprising.

From one painting
campaign to the next,

the tower's colors have
changed several times:

from red at the time
of the World's Fair

to much darker today.

But now the tower is
being repainted again,

in keeping with
its color of 1907,

when its long-term
survival was settled.

♪ ♪

Covering every
inch of the structure,

a team of acrobatic painters

follow the same methods
as their predecessors,

using tools such as the guipon,

an angled brush similar to
those used by the Eiffel workers.

♪ ♪

It took 66 tons of paint

to complete the
tower's 19th paint job.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: It is a day
of celebration for Parisians,

and for thousands of tourists

who join them from
across the globe.

After a two-year-long
race against the clock,

the long-awaited
World's Fair of 1889

is officially open.

♪ ♪

At this climactic moment,

Gustave Eiffel is
surrounded by his engineers,

now close friends,

Émile Nouguier and
Maurice Koechlin.

♪ ♪

Although the tower will
only go by Eiffel's name,

it is the team's accomplishment
and masterpiece.

The product of
years of collaboration

with a common goal,
to push boundaries

and explore uncharted territory.

♪ ♪

LEMOINE: Eiffel
is proud for himself,

but he's also
proud for his team.

Not only him, but
his own company

can be really proud
of this success.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: As the
World's Fair gateway,

the Eiffel Tower
is a huge success.

From the tower's heights,

visitors from all over
the world discover Paris

from a completely
new vantage point.

On the evening of May 6, 1889,

as a grand celebration unfolds,

Eiffel is riding high.

♪ ♪

But the tower's
story is far from over.

♪ ♪

Eiffel is worried about
the monument's future.

He knows it has only
about a decade left

before its lease expires.

After that, the tower's
fate is uncertain.

♪ ♪

LEMOINE: If the tower
had to be destroyed

after the 20 years'
concession which he had,

he would have
been like an orphan,

losing his major structure,

losing the structure
which made him famous.

And probably it was
for him inacceptable.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: In 1898,

Eiffel is eager to find
a scientific justification

to keep the tower alive.

[telegraph beeping]

Soon, he invites two engineers

to carry out wireless radio
transmission experiments

from the top of the tower.

The experiment proves
that the height of the tower

can extend transmission range.

But that confirmation alone is
not enough to save the tower.

As wireless telegraphy
is rapidly developing,

Eiffel realizes
the tower could be

an invaluable tool
for communication.

And in 1904,

the monument is equipped
with a cutting-edge antenna,

allowing the French
army a reliable radio link

with its defense
posts 248 miles away.

[telegraph beeping]

The tower proves its
strategic importance.

And in 1909,

Eiffel finally receives the
news he was hoping for:

the tower's lease is renewed.

It will not be destroyed.

LEMOINE: Then
he could be relieved

when the concession he had

was extended to 70 years.

And for him,

it's really something
to be proud of,

to be sure that the
tower will remain.

It was, in the beginning
of the 20th century,

one of his main objectives.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: An emblem of the 19th
century and the Industrial Revolution,

the Eiffel Tower ushered
in the age of skyscrapers,

like the Chrysler Building,
completed in 1930,

and the Empire State
Building, completed in 1931.

LEMOINE: The
Eiffel Tower is not only

an achievement of its time,

it's also a symbol of
our contemporary world.

Skyscrapers,

tall structures,
wouldn't be there today

if it wasn't for
the Eiffel Tower.

NARRATOR: Standing
through the roaring '20s,

where it introduced radio

to Parisians for
the very first time...

[man speaking French on radio]

[crowd cheering]

Enduring two world wars,

where it was used as a
one-of-a-kind antenna...

[cheering]

NARRATOR: Bringing major
contributions to science and technology...

The tower steadily
claimed its place

as a timeless icon and a
crucial part of French identity.

♪ ♪

Today, the Eiffel Tower
continues reinventing itself.

In 2000, 20,000 strobing lights

were placed directly
on the tower's structure.

♪ ♪

And 22 years later,

a team of specialists
installed a new antenna

to set up Paris's new
digital radio network.

Although it is
very representative

of the 19th century,
the Eiffel Tower

still stands today as
a source of inspiration

for engineers, architects,
builders in the world.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: A universal
icon of Paris and France,

the Eiffel Tower
continues to stand

the test of time,

inspiring those who see her
to dream bigger and bigger.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪