The French authorities decided to make a world exhibition to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution (1789). The Paris city government has asked the famous engineer Gustave Eiffel to make a proposal. Eiffel was initially a bit taken aback, but then rummaged among his papers, introduced the drawings 300-meter iron tower, which he had previously paid little attention. September 18, 1884 by Gustave Eiffel is a joint patent with its employees on the project, and subsequently buys at them and the exclusive right.
Obschefrantsuzsky competition of architectural and engineering projects, which will have to determine the architectural look of the future World Expo, launched May 1, 1886. The competition attracted 107 applicants, most of which are more or less repeated the tower project proposed by Eiffel. On examination there were also different extravagant ideas, among which, for example, gigantskayagilotina, which was to remind the French Revolution (1789). Another suggestion was a stone tower, but calculations and past experience showed that it was very hard to build a stone building, which would have been even higher 169-foot Washington Monument, the construction of which was worth the enormous effort the United States for several years before that. Eiffel project is one of four winners, and then the engineer makes final adjustments to it, finding a compromise between the original scheme purely engineering design and decorative option.
Gustave Eiffel
In the end, committee stops in the plan Eiffel, although the idea of the tower did not belong to him, and his two employees - and Emil Maurice Kehlenu Nuge. Gather for two years so complicated structure, the tower, it was only possible because the Eifel applied the special construction techniques. This explains the decision of the exhibition committee in favor of the project. Having won the first prize of the contest, the Eifel enthusiastically exclaimed: "France is the only country with a 300-meter flagpole!"
However, the project Nuge and Kehl was too "dry" in the technical sense, and did not answer the requirements imposed to buildings Paris World Exhibition, the architecture of which was supposed to be more refined.
In order to meet the tower more demanding aesthetic tastes of the Parisian public, architect Stefan Sovestru was asked to work on its artistic appearance. He offered to sheathe the tower stone plinth supports, tie her support and site of the first floor with magnificent arches, which would at the same time the main entrance to the exhibition, to place on the floors of the tower glazed spacious rooms, top of the tower to give a rounded shape, and use a variety of decorative items for her jewelry .
In January 1887 the Eifel, the state and the municipality of Paris signed an agreement under which the Eiffel provided for the personal use of the tower operating lease for a period of 25 years, and also provided for the payment of cash subsidy of $ 1.5 million gold francs accounted for 25% of total expenditure on Construction of the tower. December 31, 1888 to raise the remaining funds, a public limited company with a registered fund of five million francs. Half of this money - money deposited in three banks, the second half - the personal funds of the Eiffel.
The final construction budget was 7.8 million francs. Tower has paid off over the period of the exhibition, and its subsequent operation proved very profitable business.