Editing Gustave Eiffel (section)

=== The Eiffel Tower ===
{{main|Eiffel Tower}}
[[Image:Maurice koechlin pylone.jpg|thumb|Koechlin's first drawing for the Eiffel Tower. Note the sketched stack of buildings, with Notre Dame at the bottom, indicating the scale of the proposed tower.]]
The design of the Eiffel Tower was originated by Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier, who had discussed ideas for a centrepiece for the [[Exposition Universelle (1889)|1889 Exposition Universelle]]. In May 1884 Koechlin, working at his home, made an outline drawing of their scheme, described by him as "a great pylon, consisting of four lattice girders standing apart at the base and coming together at the top, joined together by metal [[trusse]]s at regular intervals".<ref>Harvie 2006, p78</ref>  Initially Eiffel showed little enthusiasm, although he did sanction further study of the project, and the two engineers then asked [[Stephen Sauvestre]] to add architectural embellishments. Sauvestre added the decorative arches to the base, a glass pavilion to the first level and the cupola at the top. The enhanced idea gained Eiffel's support for the project, and he bought the rights to the patent on the design which Koechlin, Nougier and Sauvestre had taken out. The design was exhibited at the Exhibition of Decorative Arts in the autumn of 1884, and on 30 March 1885 Eiffel read a paper on the project to the Société des Ingénieurs Civils. After discussing the technical problems and emphasising the practical uses of the tower, he finished his talk by saying that the tower would symbolise<ref>Loyrette 1985, p. 116</ref>{{blockquote|text="not only the art of the modern engineer, but also the century of Industry and Science in which we are living, and for which the way was prepared by the great scientific movement of the eighteenth century and by the Revolution of 1789, to which this monument will be built as an expression of France's gratitude."}}
Little happened until the beginning of 1886, but with the re-election of [[Jules Grévy]] as president and his appointment of [[Edouard Lockroy]] as Minister for Trade decisions began to be made. A budget for the Exposition was passed and on 1 May Lockroy announced an alteration to the terms of the open competition which was being held for a centerpiece for the exposition, which effectively made the choice of Eiffel's design a foregone conclusion: all entries had to include a study for a {{convert|300|m|ft|abbr=on}} four-sided metal tower on the [[Champ de Mars]]. On 12 May a commission was set up to examine Eiffel's scheme and its rivals and on 12 June it presented its decision, which was that only Eiffel's proposal met their requirements. After some debate about the exact site for the tower, a contract was signed on 8 January 1887. This was signed by Eiffel acting in his own capacity rather than as the representative of his company, and granted him one and a half million francs toward the construction costs. This was less than a quarter of the estimated cost of six and a half million francs. Eiffel was to receive all income from the commercial exploitation during the exhibition and for the following twenty years.<ref>Loyrette 1985, p. 121</ref> Eiffel later established a separate company to manage the tower.

The tower had been a subject of some controversy, attracting criticism both from those who did not believe it feasible and from those who objected on artistic grounds. Just as work began at the Champ de Mars, the "Committee of Three Hundred" (one member for each metre of the tower's height) was formed, led by [[Charles Garnier (architect)|Charles Garnier]] and including some of the most important figures of the French arts establishment, including [[Adolphe Bouguereau]], [[Guy de Maupassant]], [[Charles Gounod]] and [[Jules Massenet]]: a petition was sent to [[Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand]], the Minister of Works, and was published by ''[[Le Temps (Paris)|Le Temps]]''.<ref>Harvie 2006, p. 95</ref> {{blockquote|text="To bring our arguments home, imagine for a moment a giddy, ridiculous tower dominating Paris like a gigantic black smokestack, crushing under its barbaric bulk [[Notre Dame de Paris|Notre Dame]], the [[Tour Saint-Jacques]], the [[Louvre]], the Dome of [[les Invalides]], the [[Arc de Triomphe]], all of our humiliated monuments will disappear in this ghastly dream. And for twenty years ... we shall see stretching like a blot of ink the hateful shadow of the hateful column of bolted sheet metal"}}
<gallery>
Image:Construction tour eiffel.JPG|18 July 1887
Image:Construction tour eiffel2.JPG|7 December 1887
Image:Construction tour eiffel3.JPG|20 March 1888
Image:Construction tour eiffel4.JPG|15 May 1888
Image:Construction tour eiffel5.JPG|21 August 1888
Image:Construction tour eiffel6.JPG|26 December 1888
Image:Construction tour eiffel8.JPG|March 1889
</gallery>

[[Image:Caricature Gustave Eiffel.png|thumb|right|Caricature of Eiffel, published 1887 in ''[[Le Temps]]'' at the time of "The Artist's Protest"]]
Work on the foundations started on 28 January 1887. Those for the east and south legs were straightforward, each leg resting on four {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} concrete slabs, one for each of the principal girders of each leg but the other two, being closer to the river [[Seine]] were more complicated: each slab needed two [[deep foundation|piles]] installed by using compressed-air caissons {{convert|15|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} in diameter driven to a depth of {{convert|22|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref>Loyrette 1985 p. 123</ref> to support the concrete slabs, which were {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} thick. Each of these slabs supported a [[limestone]] block, each with an inclined top to bear the supporting shoe for the ironwork. These shoes were anchored by bolts 10&nbsp;cm (4&nbsp;in) in diameter and {{convert|7.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} long.
Work on the foundations was complete by 30 June and the erection of the iron work was started. Although no more than 250 men were employed on the site, a prodigious amount of exacting preparatory work was entailed: the drawing office produced 1,700 general drawings and 3,629 detail drawings of the 18,038 different parts needed.<ref>Loyrette 1985, p. 148</ref> The task of drawing the components was complicated by the complex angles involved in the design and the degree of precision required: the positions of rivet holes were specified to within 0.1&nbsp;mm (0.004&nbsp;in) and angles worked out to one [[arcsecond|second of arc]]. The components, some already riveted together into sub-assemblies, were first bolted together, the bolts being replaced by rivets as construction progressed. No drilling or shaping was done on site: if any part did not fit it was sent back to the factory for alteration. The four legs, each at an angle of 54° to the ground, were initially constructed as cantilevers, relying on the anchoring bolts in the masonry foundation blocks. Eiffel had calculated that this would be satisfactory until they approached halfway to the first level: accordingly work was stopped for the purpose of erecting a wooden supporting [[scaffold]]. This gave ammunition to his critics, and lurid headlines including "Eiffel Suicide!" and "Gustave Eiffel has gone mad: he has been confined in an Asylum" appeared in the popular press.<ref>Harvie 206, p. 110</ref> At this stage a small "creeper" [[crane (machine)|crane]] was installed in each leg, designed to move up the tower as construction progressed and making use of the guides for the [[elevator]]s which were to be fitted in each leg. After this brief pause erection of the metalwork continued, and the critical operation of linking the four legs was successfully completed by March 1888. In order to precisely align the legs so that the connecting girders could be put into place, a provision had been made to enable precise adjustments by placing [[Jack (device)#Hydraulic jack|hydraulic jack]]s in the footings for each of the girders making up the legs.

The main structural work was completed at the end of March 1889 and, on 31 March, Eiffel celebrated by leading a group of government officials, accompanied by representatives of the press, to the top of the tower. Since the lifts were not yet in operation, the ascent was made by foot, and took over an hour, Eiffel frequently stopping to make explanations of various features. Most of the party chose to stop at the lower levels, but a few, including Nouguier, Compagnon, the President of the City Council and reporters from ''[[Le Figaro]]'' and ''[[Le Monde Illustré]]''  completed the climb. At 2.35 Eiffel hoisted a large [[Flag of France|tricolour]], to the accompaniment of a 25-gun salute fired from the lower level.<ref>Harvie 2006 pp. 122–3</ref>