1 00:00:00,566 --> 00:00:10,100 ♪♪ 2 00:00:10,100 --> 00:00:12,900 -Two million, five hundred thousand rivets... 3 00:00:12,900 --> 00:00:15,966 and 18,000 pieces of metal... 4 00:00:15,966 --> 00:00:18,466 all painstakingly assembled. 5 00:00:18,466 --> 00:00:24,666 ♪♪ 6 00:00:24,666 --> 00:00:28,066 [ Whirring ] 7 00:00:28,066 --> 00:00:30,900 An engineer built the Eiffel Tower... 8 00:00:30,900 --> 00:00:33,900 chasing an unimaginable height -- 9 00:00:33,900 --> 00:00:37,033 1,000 feet. 10 00:00:37,033 --> 00:00:39,333 Despite attempts around the world, 11 00:00:39,333 --> 00:00:42,900 no building had ever grown so tall. 12 00:00:42,900 --> 00:00:47,300 But the announcement that Paris would host the 1889 World's Fair 13 00:00:47,300 --> 00:00:48,766 set in motion a competition 14 00:00:48,766 --> 00:00:52,533 between two men to build something unprecedented. 15 00:00:54,233 --> 00:00:56,633 Gustave Eiffel's main competition 16 00:00:56,633 --> 00:01:00,566 was renowned architect Jules Bourdais. 17 00:01:00,566 --> 00:01:04,366 Ultimately, Eiffel's tower of iron prevailed 18 00:01:04,366 --> 00:01:06,666 while Bourdais and his stone structure 19 00:01:06,666 --> 00:01:09,733 have become footnotes in history. 20 00:01:09,733 --> 00:01:12,900 The competition between the two men was fierce... 21 00:01:12,900 --> 00:01:15,133 and represented a much larger struggle 22 00:01:15,133 --> 00:01:17,300 gripping France at the time. 23 00:01:17,300 --> 00:01:19,900 Traditionalists resisted new styles, 24 00:01:19,900 --> 00:01:21,700 materials, and techniques, 25 00:01:21,700 --> 00:01:25,433 denying progress in art and architecture. 26 00:01:25,433 --> 00:01:27,333 Stone against metal... 27 00:01:27,333 --> 00:01:29,466 art or industry... 28 00:01:29,466 --> 00:01:32,233 tradition versus progress. 29 00:01:32,233 --> 00:01:35,366 Who would build the tallest structure? 30 00:01:35,366 --> 00:01:37,633 As the 19th century came to an end, 31 00:01:37,633 --> 00:01:40,900 new technology fueled humankind's dreams 32 00:01:40,900 --> 00:01:45,033 of building larger, better, and taller. 33 00:01:45,033 --> 00:01:48,366 At the heart of this rivalry between Bourdais and Eiffel 34 00:01:48,366 --> 00:01:51,366 was the inevitable march of progress... 35 00:01:51,366 --> 00:01:53,333 and change is never easy. 36 00:01:56,100 --> 00:02:02,366 ♪♪ 37 00:02:04,866 --> 00:02:08,300 -Monsieur Bourdais! 38 00:02:08,300 --> 00:02:09,766 Monsieur Bourdais! 39 00:02:09,766 --> 00:02:13,100 -On the morning of May 31, 1884, 40 00:02:13,100 --> 00:02:15,433 Paris was in an uproar. -Papa! 41 00:02:15,433 --> 00:02:18,033 -[ Speaking French ] 42 00:02:30,333 --> 00:02:32,300 -News had broken that the city 43 00:02:32,300 --> 00:02:35,900 would be host to the 1889 World's Fair 44 00:02:35,900 --> 00:02:39,000 and would need a symbolic monument. 45 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,400 Architect Jules Bourdais and engineer Amédée Sébillot 46 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,566 had already patented a design for a stone tower. 47 00:02:46,566 --> 00:02:49,833 They hoped this would be their chance to make it real. 48 00:02:49,833 --> 00:02:52,433 In his workshop a few miles away, 49 00:02:52,433 --> 00:02:56,133 engineer Gustave Eiffel was less enthusiastic. 50 00:02:56,133 --> 00:02:58,566 -[ Speaking French ] -He was very busy. 51 00:02:58,566 --> 00:03:01,833 His company already had too many projects to complete. 52 00:03:01,833 --> 00:03:04,366 -[ Speaking French ] 53 00:03:04,366 --> 00:03:07,133 -Still five years away, the event would mark 54 00:03:07,133 --> 00:03:09,933 the French Revolution's centennial, 55 00:03:09,933 --> 00:03:11,566 and Gustave Eiffel knew 56 00:03:11,566 --> 00:03:15,033 that this was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. 57 00:03:15,033 --> 00:03:18,300 He wouldn't miss an event of this importance. 58 00:03:18,300 --> 00:03:21,000 -The World's Fairs in the 19th century were absolutely 59 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,433 extraordinarily huge celebrations 60 00:03:23,433 --> 00:03:25,366 of industrial progress, 61 00:03:25,366 --> 00:03:28,633 economic progress, human progress, even. 62 00:03:28,633 --> 00:03:32,133 Often there was a retrospective element to show how far humanity 63 00:03:32,133 --> 00:03:35,033 had evolved over centuries and millennia. 64 00:03:35,033 --> 00:03:38,433 And there was a huge amount of competition, as well -- 65 00:03:38,433 --> 00:03:41,800 competition to show off who was really ahead -- 66 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,200 we might call it -- in the -- not the arms race, 67 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,133 but the "progress race," perhaps. 68 00:03:47,133 --> 00:03:48,766 [ Indistinct conversations ] 69 00:03:48,766 --> 00:03:51,566 -The grand exhibition was an opportunity for France 70 00:03:51,566 --> 00:03:54,566 to show off its accomplishments and innovations. 71 00:03:54,566 --> 00:03:58,233 ♪♪ 72 00:03:58,233 --> 00:04:00,500 And underscoring the entire event 73 00:04:00,500 --> 00:04:03,033 would be the country's transformation 74 00:04:03,033 --> 00:04:05,000 into a modern republic. 75 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:09,566 ♪♪ 76 00:04:09,566 --> 00:04:11,233 -[ Speaking French ] 77 00:04:11,233 --> 00:04:14,333 -The aim of this World's Fair was to demonstrate 78 00:04:14,333 --> 00:04:15,800 the link between France's 79 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,933 scientific and technological development... 80 00:04:19,933 --> 00:04:23,600 and the great principles of 1889 -- 81 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,566 liberty, equality, and fraternity. 82 00:04:26,566 --> 00:04:30,433 So it was liberty guiding the world politically, 83 00:04:30,433 --> 00:04:33,200 but also guiding the world in terms of innovation, 84 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,033 the scientific spirit, and so on. 85 00:04:36,033 --> 00:04:38,633 -The fair would demonstrate that political freedom 86 00:04:38,633 --> 00:04:40,800 fostered advances in other areas, 87 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,233 like science and technology. 88 00:04:43,233 --> 00:04:44,833 New inventions and products 89 00:04:44,833 --> 00:04:46,366 were often introduced to the public 90 00:04:46,366 --> 00:04:48,633 at these international exhibitions. 91 00:04:48,633 --> 00:04:51,233 In 1854, in New York, 92 00:04:51,233 --> 00:04:55,033 American Elisha Otis presented his elevator. 93 00:04:55,033 --> 00:04:57,766 He even cut the elevator cable in public 94 00:04:57,766 --> 00:05:00,266 to demonstrate its safety system. 95 00:05:00,266 --> 00:05:03,700 Two decades later, Alexander Graham Bell debuted 96 00:05:03,700 --> 00:05:06,333 a strange device in Philadelphia -- 97 00:05:06,333 --> 00:05:07,700 the telephone. 98 00:05:07,700 --> 00:05:08,966 -[ Speaking French ] 99 00:05:08,966 --> 00:05:10,566 -The World's Fair was a sounding board 100 00:05:10,566 --> 00:05:13,433 that could be likened to a constantly updated synthesis 101 00:05:13,433 --> 00:05:17,633 of the world's progress and destiny. 102 00:05:17,633 --> 00:05:22,166 And, of course, architecture played a central role, 103 00:05:22,166 --> 00:05:26,900 in that it is itself a means of building the world. 104 00:05:26,900 --> 00:05:29,100 -This time, to illustrate progress, 105 00:05:29,100 --> 00:05:32,766 the host country needed to present an exceptional building. 106 00:05:32,766 --> 00:05:34,733 ♪♪ 107 00:05:34,733 --> 00:05:36,566 The English had stunned visitors 108 00:05:36,566 --> 00:05:39,400 with London's Crystal Palace 30 years earlier 109 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:41,566 at the very first World's Fair. 110 00:05:41,566 --> 00:05:52,200 ♪♪ 111 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:55,833 Paris would need something as impressive. 112 00:05:55,833 --> 00:05:59,033 For the 1889 fair, the hope was for something 113 00:05:59,033 --> 00:06:01,500 that would reach new heights. 114 00:06:01,500 --> 00:06:04,700 ♪♪ 115 00:06:04,700 --> 00:06:08,166 -The feat of reaching 1,000 feet, or 300 meters -- 116 00:06:08,166 --> 00:06:10,233 it's true -- gradually took hold 117 00:06:10,233 --> 00:06:12,566 over the course of the 19th century, 118 00:06:12,566 --> 00:06:16,966 culminating in the Paris World's Fair of 1889. 119 00:06:16,966 --> 00:06:18,433 -[ Speaking French ] 120 00:06:18,433 --> 00:06:19,800 -It was like a major challenge 121 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:22,300 that was thrown down from country to country. 122 00:06:22,300 --> 00:06:26,033 Which country would be the first to build a 1,000-foot tower? 123 00:06:26,033 --> 00:06:30,433 ♪♪ 124 00:06:30,433 --> 00:06:32,800 -Constantly striving to build higher 125 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,566 has always been part of human existence. 126 00:06:35,566 --> 00:06:40,566 ♪♪ 127 00:06:40,566 --> 00:06:44,566 In 2570 BCE, the Egyptians built 128 00:06:44,566 --> 00:06:48,800 the 475-foot-tall Cheops Pyramid. 129 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,633 This colossal work had only been surpassed 130 00:06:51,633 --> 00:06:56,033 by a few cathedral spires in the centuries since. 131 00:06:56,033 --> 00:06:58,033 But the Industrial Revolution 132 00:06:58,033 --> 00:07:01,666 made new feats of daring construction possible. 133 00:07:01,666 --> 00:07:06,633 ♪♪ 134 00:07:06,633 --> 00:07:08,766 [ Iron clanging ] 135 00:07:08,766 --> 00:07:10,033 -[ Speaking French ] 136 00:07:10,033 --> 00:07:11,633 -Iron had been used for a long time 137 00:07:11,633 --> 00:07:13,233 as a reinforcement in construction, 138 00:07:13,233 --> 00:07:16,433 for example in cathedrals or classical architecture. 139 00:07:16,433 --> 00:07:19,200 But these materials were produced in small quantities. 140 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,233 The revolution, the Industrial Revolution, 141 00:07:21,233 --> 00:07:24,833 would be able to produce iron in much larger quantities. 142 00:07:24,833 --> 00:07:26,800 -In fact, it was easy to use. 143 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:28,800 It was less costly than masonry, 144 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:31,566 easy to machine, and easy to install, 145 00:07:31,566 --> 00:07:34,233 since it involved assembly techniques. 146 00:07:34,233 --> 00:07:37,166 -It has tensile strength. It has compression resistance. 147 00:07:37,166 --> 00:07:39,833 It is flexible, workable, and it can be drilled. 148 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:44,933 By way of comparison, 149 00:07:44,933 --> 00:07:47,233 a metal, cast-iron, or iron column 150 00:07:47,233 --> 00:07:50,133 only needs a diameter of around 4 inches. 151 00:07:50,133 --> 00:07:52,333 It's the equivalent of a granite masonry column 152 00:07:52,333 --> 00:07:53,833 20 inches per side, 153 00:07:53,833 --> 00:07:56,133 so it's much more resistant, and this would enable us 154 00:07:56,133 --> 00:07:58,566 to build things we'd never seen before. 155 00:07:58,566 --> 00:08:00,633 [ Sea birds crying ] 156 00:08:00,633 --> 00:08:02,100 [ Ship horn blares ] 157 00:08:02,100 --> 00:08:07,566 ♪♪ 158 00:08:07,566 --> 00:08:12,566 -An Englishman first imagined a 1,000-foot tower in 1832, 159 00:08:12,566 --> 00:08:15,566 more than 50 years earlier. 160 00:08:15,566 --> 00:08:17,200 Engineer Richard Trevithick 161 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:19,433 invented the high-pressure steam engine 162 00:08:19,433 --> 00:08:22,000 and the first rail locomotive. 163 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,166 And he knew that the biggest challenge 164 00:08:24,166 --> 00:08:28,200 facing a building of this height would be wind resistance. 165 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:30,100 For his "Reform Tower," 166 00:08:30,100 --> 00:08:31,566 he designed a structure 167 00:08:31,566 --> 00:08:35,133 of openwork, cast-iron modules bolted together. 168 00:08:38,933 --> 00:08:42,800 The center housed what would soon be called an elevator... 169 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:46,566 propelled through a long tube by pressurized steam. 170 00:08:46,566 --> 00:08:52,133 ♪♪ 171 00:08:52,133 --> 00:08:53,900 Trevithick could have been the first 172 00:08:53,900 --> 00:08:56,766 to build a structure 1,000 feet tall... 173 00:08:56,766 --> 00:09:00,400 but he died of pneumonia just as his designs were completed. 174 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,266 ♪♪ 175 00:09:03,266 --> 00:09:06,033 20 years later, another Englishman, 176 00:09:06,033 --> 00:09:09,433 architect Charles Burton, took up the challenge. 177 00:09:09,433 --> 00:09:13,100 As the gigantic Crystal Palace was being dismantled, 178 00:09:13,100 --> 00:09:16,700 he suggested repurposing the glass and metalwork 179 00:09:16,700 --> 00:09:19,100 to create a 1,000-foot tower. 180 00:09:19,100 --> 00:09:25,000 ♪♪ 181 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,900 A metal frame of mutually reinforcing beams 182 00:09:27,900 --> 00:09:30,300 would hold the glass panes in place 183 00:09:30,300 --> 00:09:33,000 as the tower grew thinner with height. 184 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:34,566 ♪♪ 185 00:09:34,566 --> 00:09:36,433 Charles Burton would have been responsible 186 00:09:36,433 --> 00:09:39,566 for the forerunner of glass skyscrapers... 187 00:09:39,566 --> 00:09:41,966 but the architect never convinced developers 188 00:09:41,966 --> 00:09:43,766 that his project had merit. 189 00:09:45,233 --> 00:09:47,200 [ Indistinct conversations ] 190 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:49,900 [ Birds chirping ] 191 00:09:49,900 --> 00:09:53,600 For the Philadelphia Exhibition in 1876, 192 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:57,733 the Clarke and Reeves Company designed the Centennial Tower 193 00:09:57,733 --> 00:10:00,400 to celebrate American independence. 194 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:03,033 As iron producers and bridge builders, 195 00:10:03,033 --> 00:10:05,700 Clarke and Reeves designed a 1,000-foot tower 196 00:10:05,700 --> 00:10:07,733 to showcase their own work. 197 00:10:07,733 --> 00:10:11,200 ♪♪ 198 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,033 The project featured a metal tube structure, 199 00:10:14,033 --> 00:10:17,233 which offered little wind resistance. 200 00:10:17,233 --> 00:10:20,733 And a column in the center housed four elevators 201 00:10:20,733 --> 00:10:22,966 to take visitors to the top of the tower. 202 00:10:22,966 --> 00:10:24,566 -[ Speaking French ] 203 00:10:24,566 --> 00:10:26,800 -Clarke and Reeves' 1,000-foot tower project 204 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:28,366 was quite credible. 205 00:10:28,366 --> 00:10:30,566 They used proven technology and had already built 206 00:10:30,566 --> 00:10:34,166 many bridges and structures using this technique. 207 00:10:34,166 --> 00:10:37,833 -But Clarke and Reeves never raised the money they needed... 208 00:10:37,833 --> 00:10:39,800 and, ultimately, abandoned their dream 209 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:43,733 of being the first in the world to complete a 1,000-foot tower. 210 00:10:43,733 --> 00:10:48,366 And so the pursuit to reach new heights continued. 211 00:10:48,366 --> 00:10:50,166 -With the circulation of information 212 00:10:50,166 --> 00:10:51,633 via the trade papers, 213 00:10:51,633 --> 00:10:54,133 information about what was happening in England 214 00:10:54,133 --> 00:10:56,166 and what might have been happening in the United States 215 00:10:56,166 --> 00:10:57,966 was quickly known. 216 00:10:57,966 --> 00:11:01,866 The idea was gradually maturing to meet the height challenge. 217 00:11:01,866 --> 00:11:05,400 -Many people in the scientific, political, diplomatic, 218 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:06,800 and other spheres 219 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:11,733 were keen for France to take up this challenge. 220 00:11:11,733 --> 00:11:15,366 So the 1,000-foot tower had become a political issue, 221 00:11:15,366 --> 00:11:17,933 a war horse for France. 222 00:11:17,933 --> 00:11:21,166 [ Horse hooves clopping ] 223 00:11:21,166 --> 00:11:23,033 -Could a Frenchman succeed 224 00:11:23,033 --> 00:11:26,233 where the British and Americans had failed? 225 00:11:26,233 --> 00:11:28,333 Jules Bourdais was already responsible 226 00:11:28,333 --> 00:11:31,100 for one of Paris's most famous buildings -- 227 00:11:31,100 --> 00:11:33,566 the Palais du Trocadéro. 228 00:11:33,566 --> 00:11:36,966 ♪♪ 229 00:11:36,966 --> 00:11:38,633 It stood at the top of a hill 230 00:11:38,633 --> 00:11:41,966 on the site of today's Palais de Chaillot. 231 00:11:41,966 --> 00:11:44,100 Bourdais designed the innovative work 232 00:11:44,100 --> 00:11:49,566 with architect Gabriel Davioud for the 1878 Exposition. 233 00:11:49,566 --> 00:11:52,233 Flanked by two 260-foot towers, 234 00:11:52,233 --> 00:11:54,366 it was a gigantic building 235 00:11:54,366 --> 00:11:57,400 with a 4,600-seat concert hall. 236 00:11:57,400 --> 00:11:59,100 -[ Speaking French ] -The great attraction 237 00:11:59,100 --> 00:12:01,466 of the Trocadéro Palace was the elevators. 238 00:12:01,466 --> 00:12:03,100 At the time, there was no other place 239 00:12:03,100 --> 00:12:05,766 where you could see Paris from such a height. 240 00:12:05,766 --> 00:12:08,333 As simple as that. 241 00:12:08,333 --> 00:12:10,333 -The construction of this palace 242 00:12:10,333 --> 00:12:13,333 made Bourdais a celebrity. 243 00:12:13,333 --> 00:12:16,166 -He was rewarded and showered with honors. 244 00:12:16,166 --> 00:12:21,000 And he was known not only in France, but internationally. 245 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,566 -And the orders poured in for Bourdais. 246 00:12:23,566 --> 00:12:26,133 The press articles. 247 00:12:26,133 --> 00:12:28,966 He was acclaimed everywhere. 248 00:12:28,966 --> 00:12:30,933 -So not only was he well-connected, 249 00:12:30,933 --> 00:12:33,566 he was also linked to a number of important families 250 00:12:33,566 --> 00:12:35,966 and even major financiers. 251 00:12:35,966 --> 00:12:39,166 So he was someone very prominent and well-placed 252 00:12:39,166 --> 00:12:41,633 in high society. 253 00:12:41,633 --> 00:12:44,366 -Now Jules Bourdais wanted to be the first 254 00:12:44,366 --> 00:12:46,800 to reach 1,000 feet. 255 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:48,800 When the World's Fair was announced, 256 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,366 he already had a design ready for construction. 257 00:12:52,366 --> 00:12:56,366 He envisioned a stone tower, topped by a lighthouse, 258 00:12:56,366 --> 00:12:59,133 that would light up the city of Paris at night. 259 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:06,566 Gustave Eiffel must have been aware 260 00:13:06,566 --> 00:13:09,700 that Bourdais was attempting to reach 1,000 feet 261 00:13:09,700 --> 00:13:13,933 and, as an engineer, was surely intrigued by the challenge. 262 00:13:13,933 --> 00:13:17,000 At 25, he had secured his first record 263 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:20,600 by overseeing the construction of Europe's longest bridge, 264 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,366 the 1,600-foot Bordeaux Bridge. 265 00:13:24,366 --> 00:13:27,033 -He founded his own company at the age of 32. 266 00:13:27,033 --> 00:13:28,566 He developed it. 267 00:13:28,566 --> 00:13:31,166 He became a builder in the truest sense of the word. 268 00:13:31,166 --> 00:13:34,166 And so he acquired great expertise in this field. 269 00:13:34,166 --> 00:13:35,966 He'd had some outstanding achievements 270 00:13:35,966 --> 00:13:37,366 which had made headlines 271 00:13:37,366 --> 00:13:40,300 for their inventiveness and innovation. 272 00:13:40,300 --> 00:13:42,400 -From Budapest's railway station 273 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,566 to Porto's majestic Maria Pia Bridge, 274 00:13:45,566 --> 00:13:49,033 Eiffel had already produced several major works. 275 00:13:49,033 --> 00:13:52,566 And while less well-known at the time than Jules Bourdais, 276 00:13:52,566 --> 00:13:54,566 he was considered a pioneer. 277 00:13:54,566 --> 00:13:58,133 -Gustave Eiffel was probably one of the best at this time, 278 00:13:58,133 --> 00:14:02,666 since he implemented a strategy of assembling metal components. 279 00:14:02,666 --> 00:14:06,133 He incorporated a certain number of parameters, 280 00:14:06,133 --> 00:14:10,033 such as fire resistance, but also wind resistance, 281 00:14:10,033 --> 00:14:15,633 which meant that he was soon able to build high structures. 282 00:14:15,633 --> 00:14:18,366 -But Eiffel already had his hands full... 283 00:14:18,366 --> 00:14:22,566 -[ Speaking French ] 284 00:14:22,566 --> 00:14:25,333 -He was busy completing the Garabit viaduct 285 00:14:25,333 --> 00:14:29,366 in the heart of the Massif Central. 286 00:14:29,366 --> 00:14:30,900 The railway span, 287 00:14:30,900 --> 00:14:32,633 with a height of 400 feet 288 00:14:32,633 --> 00:14:35,566 and a central arch 540 feet across, 289 00:14:35,566 --> 00:14:37,566 is still in use today. 290 00:14:37,566 --> 00:14:40,766 ♪♪ 291 00:14:40,766 --> 00:14:43,700 At the same time, the engineer was also finishing 292 00:14:43,700 --> 00:14:46,366 the framework for the Statue of Liberty. 293 00:14:46,366 --> 00:14:50,300 Lady Liberty, a gift from France to the United States, 294 00:14:50,300 --> 00:14:53,566 was a relatively small job for Eiffel, 295 00:14:53,566 --> 00:14:56,600 but its construction in the heart of the capital 296 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,366 was a brilliant advertisement for his company. 297 00:15:00,366 --> 00:15:04,033 For Gustave Eiffel, building a 1,000-foot tower 298 00:15:04,033 --> 00:15:06,166 would be a crowning achievement. 299 00:15:06,166 --> 00:15:09,366 But someone else produced the tower's initial design. 300 00:15:09,366 --> 00:15:11,366 [ Conversing in French ] 301 00:15:18,100 --> 00:15:20,900 -On June 7, 1884, 302 00:15:20,900 --> 00:15:23,766 Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier, 303 00:15:23,766 --> 00:15:25,966 two of Eiffel's main collaborators, 304 00:15:25,966 --> 00:15:28,000 presented him with a drawing. 305 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,566 -This is a sketch that has been preserved for us, of a pylon. 306 00:15:31,566 --> 00:15:34,100 You could say an extrapolation of a bridge pylon. 307 00:15:34,100 --> 00:15:37,800 But instead of being 50 meters long, it was 300 meters long, 308 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,300 and had a rather characteristic curved shape. 309 00:15:40,300 --> 00:15:42,700 It wasn't a pyramidal pylon. It had this curvature 310 00:15:42,700 --> 00:15:44,766 that was really characteristic of the tower 311 00:15:44,766 --> 00:15:46,633 that was part of this project. 312 00:15:46,633 --> 00:15:48,766 The project was called a pylon. 313 00:15:48,766 --> 00:15:50,566 It was not a tower yet. Just a pylon. 314 00:15:50,566 --> 00:15:54,166 A bit free like an antenna could be, but 300 meters high. 315 00:15:56,133 --> 00:16:00,266 -Iconic Parisian buildings were superimposed over the sketch 316 00:16:00,266 --> 00:16:03,300 to give an idea of the scale. 317 00:16:03,300 --> 00:16:04,866 -Of course, the two engineers 318 00:16:04,866 --> 00:16:06,733 didn't just make a little sketch. 319 00:16:06,733 --> 00:16:09,000 They also drew up a brief calculation note 320 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:11,300 to check the overall weight of the tower, 321 00:16:11,300 --> 00:16:14,700 taking into account the wind load and therefore the shape. 322 00:16:14,700 --> 00:16:17,333 -The calculations were extremely accurate, 323 00:16:17,333 --> 00:16:21,100 so the possibility of reaching 1,000 feet was real. 324 00:16:21,100 --> 00:16:24,833 The challenge of wind resistance seemed to have been solved, too. 325 00:16:24,833 --> 00:16:26,700 The collaborators offered the drawings 326 00:16:26,700 --> 00:16:29,133 and calculations to Gustave Eiffel... 327 00:16:29,133 --> 00:16:30,933 but he remained unconvinced. 328 00:16:30,933 --> 00:16:32,566 -So that's how it went at first. 329 00:16:32,566 --> 00:16:34,366 Eiffel's reaction wasn't necessarily 330 00:16:34,366 --> 00:16:36,100 immediately enthusiastic. 331 00:16:36,100 --> 00:16:38,333 -But he was intrigued and asked them 332 00:16:38,333 --> 00:16:42,233 to continue their exploration of the tower's potential. 333 00:16:42,233 --> 00:16:44,366 -Koechlin and Nouguier were clever enough. 334 00:16:44,366 --> 00:16:46,966 They found an architect, Stephen Sauvestre, 335 00:16:46,966 --> 00:16:49,700 whom they knew and with whom the company had already worked, 336 00:16:49,700 --> 00:16:51,800 and Sauvestre produced another design. 337 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,733 He even completely redrew the project. 338 00:16:54,733 --> 00:16:58,600 Sauvestre added three very important things. 339 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,966 Firstly, he said that a pylon was fine, 340 00:17:00,966 --> 00:17:03,266 but a tower that could be climbed was better, 341 00:17:03,266 --> 00:17:06,100 because the public would be able to access it. 342 00:17:06,100 --> 00:17:09,566 And Sauvestre envisioned rooms on the first and second floors 343 00:17:09,566 --> 00:17:11,166 that could accommodate the public. 344 00:17:11,166 --> 00:17:14,100 And so he was going to give meaning to this project, 345 00:17:14,100 --> 00:17:16,166 the meaning of welcoming the public 346 00:17:16,166 --> 00:17:17,966 and therefore also of discovering, 347 00:17:17,966 --> 00:17:20,933 from the top of this tower, the landscape of Paris. 348 00:17:20,933 --> 00:17:22,566 -With these improvements, 349 00:17:22,566 --> 00:17:26,566 Eiffel enthusiastically agreed to move ahead. 350 00:17:26,566 --> 00:17:31,166 -He also gave the tower a more architectural form. 351 00:17:31,166 --> 00:17:34,333 In particular, he designed four large arches 352 00:17:34,333 --> 00:17:36,166 to frame the pillars, 353 00:17:36,166 --> 00:17:40,100 giving the tower a kind of solidity. 354 00:17:40,100 --> 00:17:42,566 And then he introduced ornamentation, 355 00:17:42,566 --> 00:17:44,100 a treatment of the top, 356 00:17:44,100 --> 00:17:50,433 even in his early sketches, even small statues. 357 00:17:50,433 --> 00:17:52,900 Finally, he would give it a friendlier feel, 358 00:17:52,900 --> 00:17:55,900 more receptive to the public. 359 00:17:55,900 --> 00:17:58,166 All of a sudden, we had a real project, 360 00:17:58,166 --> 00:18:01,266 a technical project designed by the engineers, 361 00:18:01,266 --> 00:18:04,166 an architectural project designed by Sauvestre, 362 00:18:04,166 --> 00:18:06,433 which became not only credible but attractive, 363 00:18:06,433 --> 00:18:08,733 and that's when Eiffel changed his mind. 364 00:18:12,366 --> 00:18:14,966 -He had the opportunity to create something 365 00:18:14,966 --> 00:18:18,233 that had never been built before. 366 00:18:18,233 --> 00:18:21,333 Like Jules Bourdais, Eiffel wanted to be the first 367 00:18:21,333 --> 00:18:24,400 to build a 1,000-foot tower. 368 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:26,833 This was the beginning of a tense competition 369 00:18:26,833 --> 00:18:31,233 between two men with radically different visions. 370 00:18:31,233 --> 00:18:33,633 But they had started at the same place 371 00:18:33,633 --> 00:18:36,300 and knew each other well. 372 00:18:36,300 --> 00:18:38,633 They attended one of the top engineering schools 373 00:18:38,633 --> 00:18:41,166 two years apart. 374 00:18:41,166 --> 00:18:43,433 After the Ecole Centrale de Paris, 375 00:18:43,433 --> 00:18:46,800 their careers went in different directions. 376 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,433 Eiffel became the pioneering engineer... 377 00:18:49,433 --> 00:18:52,566 while Bourdais joined the world of architects 378 00:18:52,566 --> 00:18:56,566 advocating for traditional academic design. 379 00:18:56,566 --> 00:18:58,433 Their paths occasionally crossed, 380 00:18:58,433 --> 00:19:03,066 as they had at the previous Paris World's Fair in 1878. 381 00:19:03,066 --> 00:19:05,833 Bourdais built the Palais du Trocadéro, 382 00:19:05,833 --> 00:19:08,433 the highlight of that exhibition. 383 00:19:08,433 --> 00:19:11,733 Eiffel was the engineer in charge of the City Pavilion, 384 00:19:11,733 --> 00:19:13,700 the Paris Gas Company Pavilion, 385 00:19:13,700 --> 00:19:17,766 and the facade of the fair's main building. 386 00:19:17,766 --> 00:19:19,133 His work earned him 387 00:19:19,133 --> 00:19:21,333 the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, 388 00:19:21,333 --> 00:19:24,233 or Knight of the Legion of Honor, 389 00:19:24,233 --> 00:19:26,833 and the congratulations of Bourdais himself. 390 00:19:26,833 --> 00:19:28,966 -[ Speaking French ] 391 00:19:28,966 --> 00:19:31,566 -But there could be only one winner in the race 392 00:19:31,566 --> 00:19:34,300 to build a 1,000-foot tower. 393 00:19:34,300 --> 00:19:37,233 Bourdais was confident in his design. 394 00:19:37,233 --> 00:19:39,700 He'd been working on it for two years, 395 00:19:39,700 --> 00:19:43,133 and he was well-connected to high-ranking politicians. 396 00:19:43,133 --> 00:19:46,400 Eiffel knew he wasn't starting out as the favorite. 397 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:51,000 To catch Bourdais off guard, he launched a press battle. 398 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,833 On October 22, 1884, 399 00:19:53,833 --> 00:19:55,833 an article inLe Figaronewspaper 400 00:19:55,833 --> 00:19:58,200 mentioned an extraordinary project 401 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:02,233 for a 1,000-foot tower made of iron. 402 00:20:02,233 --> 00:20:06,000 The mention was just enough to arouse curiosity. 403 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,433 And the next month, a more substantial article 404 00:20:08,433 --> 00:20:11,700 appeared in the scientific journalNature. 405 00:20:11,700 --> 00:20:14,566 This one had illustrations. 406 00:20:14,566 --> 00:20:16,933 From the beginning, Eiffel's team believed 407 00:20:16,933 --> 00:20:18,766 that iron was the only material 408 00:20:18,766 --> 00:20:20,900 capable of withstanding the wind. 409 00:20:20,900 --> 00:20:24,833 The article also highlighted the proposed tower's usefulness. 410 00:20:24,833 --> 00:20:27,233 It would enable strategic observations 411 00:20:27,233 --> 00:20:31,300 during wartime, communications by optical telegraphy, 412 00:20:31,300 --> 00:20:35,833 and both meteorological and astronomical observations. 413 00:20:35,833 --> 00:20:38,033 But perhaps most astonishing 414 00:20:38,033 --> 00:20:40,900 was the promise of electrical high-bay lighting, 415 00:20:40,900 --> 00:20:44,566 "as done in some American cities." 416 00:20:44,566 --> 00:20:47,366 Bourdais had to react quickly. 417 00:20:47,366 --> 00:20:50,300 A few days later, a new article presented 418 00:20:50,300 --> 00:20:52,833 his colossal tower of stone, 419 00:20:52,833 --> 00:20:58,033 with a base that was already as high as Notre Dame cathedral. 420 00:20:58,033 --> 00:21:01,266 The tower itself was adorned with colonnades, 421 00:21:01,266 --> 00:21:04,166 and the center was reserved for elevator traffic. 422 00:21:06,833 --> 00:21:11,300 At its summit, Bourdais included a large observation platform 423 00:21:11,300 --> 00:21:13,800 for 1,000 people at a time, 424 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:16,433 as well as a system to illuminate the city. 425 00:21:20,033 --> 00:21:22,433 -There was going to be an ultra-powerful beacon 426 00:21:22,433 --> 00:21:24,400 above people's heads, 427 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:28,333 bringing light to all the streets in Paris. 428 00:21:28,333 --> 00:21:31,133 For the general public, it was fantastic. 429 00:21:31,133 --> 00:21:33,300 You have to realize they were living through 430 00:21:33,300 --> 00:21:35,900 the electricity revolution. 431 00:21:35,900 --> 00:21:37,833 -It was only 1880. 432 00:21:37,833 --> 00:21:39,966 The incandescent lamp had just been invented, 433 00:21:39,966 --> 00:21:42,200 and public lighting was still gas-powered, 434 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:44,000 which meant it was fairly dim. 435 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,766 So electricity brought incredible comfort. 436 00:21:46,766 --> 00:21:48,966 And Jules Bourdais and Amédée Sébillot 437 00:21:48,966 --> 00:21:51,566 wanted to bring this comfort not only to the streets, 438 00:21:51,566 --> 00:21:54,200 but also to people's homes. 439 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,233 -Part of the original project included reflectors 440 00:21:57,233 --> 00:21:59,800 that would redirect the rays from the lighthouse 441 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,633 to hidden areas such as dark streets 442 00:22:02,633 --> 00:22:05,566 and inside apartments. 443 00:22:05,566 --> 00:22:07,700 -And a man could read his newspaper 444 00:22:07,700 --> 00:22:09,566 at the window quite easily. 445 00:22:09,566 --> 00:22:11,700 So there was this idea that not only could we 446 00:22:11,700 --> 00:22:13,566 bring electricity to the streets, 447 00:22:13,566 --> 00:22:18,700 but that we'd also somehow bring it into the home. 448 00:22:18,700 --> 00:22:21,766 -But Bourdais didn't stop there. 449 00:22:21,766 --> 00:22:24,033 Piqued by the competition with Eiffel, 450 00:22:24,033 --> 00:22:26,233 he went even further. 451 00:22:26,233 --> 00:22:28,566 In December 1884, 452 00:22:28,566 --> 00:22:33,100 the plans for his tower topped 1,000 feet. 453 00:22:33,100 --> 00:22:34,566 -It had become a tower 454 00:22:34,566 --> 00:22:36,700 described as ultra-gigantic. 455 00:22:36,700 --> 00:22:39,233 370 meters high, 456 00:22:39,233 --> 00:22:41,900 six times the height of the Notre Dame towers. 457 00:22:41,900 --> 00:22:44,433 -The two-tower war between Bourdais and Eiffel 458 00:22:44,433 --> 00:22:47,766 was taking shape, and soon the competition 459 00:22:47,766 --> 00:22:50,633 captivated the citizens of Paris. 460 00:22:50,633 --> 00:22:52,566 The designs themselves represented 461 00:22:52,566 --> 00:22:55,400 two very different visions for the future -- 462 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:57,566 on one side, tradition... 463 00:22:57,566 --> 00:23:00,666 and on the other, innovation. 464 00:23:00,666 --> 00:23:04,700 Bourdais's tower, built of stone and with colonnades, 465 00:23:04,700 --> 00:23:09,033 reflected the academic approach, as taught at the Beaux-Arts... 466 00:23:09,033 --> 00:23:11,433 while Eiffel's tower was, first and foremost, 467 00:23:11,433 --> 00:23:13,433 an engineering project. 468 00:23:13,433 --> 00:23:16,333 Its construction was dictated by mathematics 469 00:23:16,333 --> 00:23:19,233 and the need to produce a wind-resistant structure. 470 00:23:19,233 --> 00:23:21,333 And it would be built from material 471 00:23:21,333 --> 00:23:24,600 that had never been used for a prestigious building. 472 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:28,700 -The controversy about the Eiffel Tower at the time 473 00:23:28,700 --> 00:23:30,633 was not that it was made of iron. 474 00:23:30,633 --> 00:23:32,033 There was plenty of iron around. 475 00:23:32,033 --> 00:23:33,700 It was that the iron was shown off 476 00:23:33,700 --> 00:23:35,166 as a decoration for the city, 477 00:23:35,166 --> 00:23:38,200 that the iron was the aesthetic of the building. 478 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:41,433 -The idea was that metal was good for useful things, 479 00:23:41,433 --> 00:23:44,233 such as interior structures in churches, 480 00:23:44,233 --> 00:23:46,100 but also passageways -- 481 00:23:46,100 --> 00:23:49,166 in banks, in halls, in railway stations, et cetera -- 482 00:23:49,166 --> 00:23:50,966 but that we didn't need to show it, 483 00:23:50,966 --> 00:23:52,600 unless it was really necessary. 484 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:54,566 -And the Eiffel Tower announces 485 00:23:54,566 --> 00:23:56,633 iron, in a certain sense, 486 00:23:56,633 --> 00:24:01,666 has the right to be monumentally present in the city. 487 00:24:01,666 --> 00:24:04,300 -Parisian architecture drew heavily on the past 488 00:24:04,300 --> 00:24:05,933 for inspiration, 489 00:24:05,933 --> 00:24:09,566 and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts promoted traditional styles. 490 00:24:09,566 --> 00:24:12,833 Haussmannian buildings are a blend of Baroque, Classical, 491 00:24:12,833 --> 00:24:15,000 and Renaissance styles. 492 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,400 The Sacré-Coeur, then under construction, 493 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:18,800 recalled the architecture 494 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,966 of Romanesque and Byzantine cathedrals. 495 00:24:21,966 --> 00:24:25,100 Stone was the predominant building material. 496 00:24:25,100 --> 00:24:26,566 Iron had to be hidden, 497 00:24:26,566 --> 00:24:28,566 like at the Eglise Saint-Augustin, 498 00:24:28,566 --> 00:24:31,566 where only the turret revealed the metal framework... 499 00:24:31,566 --> 00:24:33,100 or at railway stations, 500 00:24:33,100 --> 00:24:36,366 where stone facades concealed the iron supports. 501 00:24:36,366 --> 00:24:40,133 -Even though metal framing was becoming increasingly technical, 502 00:24:40,133 --> 00:24:42,366 there were several idealistic, 503 00:24:42,366 --> 00:24:45,566 cultural, and regulatory obstacles... 504 00:24:45,566 --> 00:24:49,000 since it wasn't until 1878 that Paris regulations 505 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:53,200 authorized visible metal framing. 506 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,433 ♪♪ 507 00:24:55,433 --> 00:24:58,766 -Iron was the material of choice for engineers. 508 00:24:58,766 --> 00:25:01,766 With it, they could add decorative elements to projects. 509 00:25:01,766 --> 00:25:04,766 And Eiffel received admiration for his Budapest station, 510 00:25:04,766 --> 00:25:06,966 which showed off its metal facade. 511 00:25:06,966 --> 00:25:09,133 -The relationship between architect and engineer 512 00:25:09,133 --> 00:25:12,566 in the 19th century is one of the most complex 513 00:25:12,566 --> 00:25:15,333 and, I would say also, vexed questions 514 00:25:15,333 --> 00:25:17,566 of the development of modern professions, 515 00:25:17,566 --> 00:25:21,566 but particularly seen from the side of the architects 516 00:25:21,566 --> 00:25:22,966 as a really vexing issue. 517 00:25:22,966 --> 00:25:25,300 Because engineering is making possible 518 00:25:25,300 --> 00:25:27,566 all sorts of new approaches to architecture -- 519 00:25:27,566 --> 00:25:30,566 transparency, great open spaces, 520 00:25:30,566 --> 00:25:34,133 spans that are almost unprecedented. 521 00:25:34,133 --> 00:25:37,633 -Bourdais' lighthouse and Gustave Eiffel's tower 522 00:25:37,633 --> 00:25:39,933 embodied this fundamental opposition 523 00:25:39,933 --> 00:25:43,233 between engineers and architects. 524 00:25:43,233 --> 00:25:45,166 There's the engineer's construction... 525 00:25:45,166 --> 00:25:48,000 and there's the architect's art. 526 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,233 ♪♪ 527 00:25:50,233 --> 00:25:53,900 -This antagonism between those who defended heritage 528 00:25:53,900 --> 00:25:58,333 and those who challenged tradition ran deep. 529 00:25:58,333 --> 00:26:01,700 It provided a portrait of a country in upheaval, 530 00:26:01,700 --> 00:26:06,200 where the old and the new were now pitted against each other. 531 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,100 While Bourdais and Eiffel were competing 532 00:26:08,100 --> 00:26:09,933 over their tower projects, 533 00:26:09,933 --> 00:26:12,933 the first Salon des Indépendants welcomed artists 534 00:26:12,933 --> 00:26:15,300 often rejected by official events, 535 00:26:15,300 --> 00:26:19,566 like Seurat and his "Bathers at Asnières." 536 00:26:19,566 --> 00:26:21,200 Just a few years earlier, 537 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:26,300 the Impressionists had been trashed by the Academists. 538 00:26:26,300 --> 00:26:29,633 -The arts were all crisscrossed by this fundamental debate 539 00:26:29,633 --> 00:26:33,133 between respect for codes and emancipation from them. 540 00:26:33,133 --> 00:26:34,966 In other words, the central question 541 00:26:34,966 --> 00:26:36,900 was how to create a new art form. 542 00:26:36,900 --> 00:26:38,933 You had to be of your time. 543 00:26:38,933 --> 00:26:41,300 ♪♪ 544 00:26:41,300 --> 00:26:43,766 The break with pictorial academicism 545 00:26:43,766 --> 00:26:47,300 at the time was colossal, 546 00:26:47,300 --> 00:26:53,166 and we can draw a parallel with the Eiffel Tower. 547 00:26:53,166 --> 00:26:56,600 It generated the same kinds of reactions, 548 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:02,000 which were not, in fact, outrageous, but somewhat strong. 549 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,266 -The famous Beaux-Arts painter and teacher 550 00:27:04,266 --> 00:27:05,966 Jean Leon Gerome 551 00:27:05,966 --> 00:27:09,766 called Impressionist paintings "garbage." 552 00:27:09,766 --> 00:27:11,733 For the supporters of tradition, 553 00:27:11,733 --> 00:27:14,000 Gustave Eiffel's tower project 554 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,733 was yet another unbearable provocation. 555 00:27:16,733 --> 00:27:19,933 [ Men shouting in French ] 556 00:27:19,933 --> 00:27:22,800 -What was essential for the project to move forward 557 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:27,100 was to have the backing of the engineers. 558 00:27:27,100 --> 00:27:29,000 They were the ones who could validate 559 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,700 the feasibility of the project. 560 00:27:31,700 --> 00:27:34,600 If the engineers said the project wasn't feasible, 561 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:36,800 it wouldn't go any further. 562 00:27:52,833 --> 00:27:56,366 -He thought it was possible, but he didn't necessarily know yet 563 00:27:56,366 --> 00:27:58,733 what difficulties he would encounter. 564 00:27:58,733 --> 00:28:01,466 And that's what was so incredible about those days. 565 00:28:01,466 --> 00:28:04,633 It was the faith in progress and the faith in science. 566 00:28:04,633 --> 00:28:06,566 People threw themselves into challenges 567 00:28:06,566 --> 00:28:09,133 because they knew they were going to have difficulties, 568 00:28:09,133 --> 00:28:12,400 but they were going to solve them. 569 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:15,200 -Each man remained confident in his design. 570 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:16,966 [ Bell ringing ] And there was no indication 571 00:28:16,966 --> 00:28:20,366 which one would be chosen for the World's Fair. 572 00:28:20,366 --> 00:28:23,433 But then fate stepped in. 573 00:28:23,433 --> 00:28:28,433 In 1886, Charles de Freycinet, who was close to Bourdais, 574 00:28:28,433 --> 00:28:31,633 was made prime minister. 575 00:28:31,633 --> 00:28:34,033 This development prompted Gustave Eiffel 576 00:28:34,033 --> 00:28:35,766 to request a meeting with the man in charge 577 00:28:35,766 --> 00:28:37,700 of the exhibition -- 578 00:28:37,700 --> 00:28:42,233 the new Minister of Commerce and Industry, Edouard Lockroy. 579 00:28:42,233 --> 00:28:45,333 Lockroy was no ordinary politician. 580 00:28:45,333 --> 00:28:48,566 He had fought on the ground during the Paris Commune, 581 00:28:48,566 --> 00:28:50,133 served time in prison, 582 00:28:50,133 --> 00:28:53,566 and was a committed and popular member of parliament. 583 00:28:53,566 --> 00:28:56,366 The conservative Freycinet brought him into his government 584 00:28:56,366 --> 00:29:00,300 as a left-wing ally, but the two didn't get along. 585 00:29:01,666 --> 00:29:04,400 -Lockroy didn't like Freycinet, 586 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:07,600 didn't like this grand bourgeois side of him. 587 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:09,566 He didn't take kindly to the fact that Freycinet 588 00:29:09,566 --> 00:29:14,100 considered Bourdais' tower to be already validated... 589 00:29:14,100 --> 00:29:18,333 without even a critical examination. 590 00:29:18,333 --> 00:29:20,633 So he had a hard time of it. 591 00:29:20,633 --> 00:29:22,366 And so Lockroy, 592 00:29:22,366 --> 00:29:26,133 perhaps to keep things a little personal and confidential, 593 00:29:26,133 --> 00:29:29,566 received Eiffel not at the Ministry, but at his home. 594 00:29:29,566 --> 00:29:31,133 [ Knock on door ] 595 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:39,233 -Lockroy was familiar with Eiffel's work, 596 00:29:39,233 --> 00:29:41,400 including the world's highest bridge, 597 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:43,433 and was impressed when the engineer vowed 598 00:29:43,433 --> 00:29:47,133 to do even better with his 1,000-foot tower. 599 00:29:47,133 --> 00:29:49,166 -Lockroy was someone whose life had taught him 600 00:29:49,166 --> 00:29:51,200 that, in the end, you have to be pragmatic. 601 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:53,166 -But the politician also knew that Eiffel 602 00:29:53,166 --> 00:29:58,700 faced a formidable competitor who already had strong support. 603 00:29:58,700 --> 00:30:01,233 -And for him, the first question was, 604 00:30:01,233 --> 00:30:02,733 "Does the man in front of me 605 00:30:02,733 --> 00:30:06,000 really have the ability to achieve this goal?" 606 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,566 -He reminded Eiffel that his proposed iron tower 607 00:30:08,566 --> 00:30:10,700 had the entire city in an uproar. 608 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:26,800 Lockroy respected the engineer's point of view 609 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:29,800 but was concerned about the practicalities. 610 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,733 Eiffel insisted that he had always met his deadlines 611 00:30:32,733 --> 00:30:34,766 and that his iron tower would be ready 612 00:30:34,766 --> 00:30:36,766 for the World's Fair inauguration. 613 00:30:36,766 --> 00:30:38,833 But Lockroy was also worried 614 00:30:38,833 --> 00:30:41,333 about the soaring costs of the Fair. 615 00:30:41,333 --> 00:30:43,333 He pointed out that the iron tower 616 00:30:43,333 --> 00:30:47,133 would not house any pavilions or provide urban lighting. 617 00:30:47,133 --> 00:30:50,200 Then Eiffel proposed a unique partnership. 618 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:52,200 He would cover all of the tower's costs 619 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:54,733 in exchange for the revenue from its ticket sales 620 00:30:54,733 --> 00:30:57,233 for its first 10 years. 621 00:30:57,233 --> 00:31:00,500 -Lockroy soon realized that Bourdais' project wasn't bad, 622 00:31:00,500 --> 00:31:04,000 but it was still very uncertain. 623 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,333 There were risks. 624 00:31:07,333 --> 00:31:08,966 Not only could it fall apart, 625 00:31:08,966 --> 00:31:12,933 but it might also simply not be completed on time. 626 00:31:12,933 --> 00:31:16,000 And Eiffel's project was the project of an engineer 627 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,133 with a company, with employees, 628 00:31:18,133 --> 00:31:20,566 who had built great bridges, great structures. 629 00:31:20,566 --> 00:31:22,400 He claimed to be able to build it. 630 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:24,766 He also claimed to be able to finance it. 631 00:31:24,766 --> 00:31:27,166 Incidentally, it was not bad, and it wouldn't cost 632 00:31:27,166 --> 00:31:30,300 the local authorities or the state very much. 633 00:31:30,300 --> 00:31:32,200 -Eiffel had calculated the revenue 634 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:36,800 admissions to the tower would bring in. 635 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:38,566 He believed that his investment 636 00:31:38,566 --> 00:31:41,966 would be fully repaid within a decade. 637 00:31:41,966 --> 00:31:44,933 -Eiffel must have said, "Well, my project, 638 00:31:44,933 --> 00:31:48,133 I believe in it, I support it, and I'm defending it. 639 00:31:48,133 --> 00:31:51,166 If, in addition, I can say that I'm financing it, 640 00:31:51,166 --> 00:31:52,833 we'll remove an obstacle. 641 00:31:52,833 --> 00:31:55,966 We'll clear the way to say, look, now I'm bringing you 642 00:31:55,966 --> 00:31:58,233 the turnkey project," as it were. 643 00:31:58,233 --> 00:32:00,100 ♪♪ 644 00:32:00,100 --> 00:32:03,400 -Bourdais' supporters in Paris were worried. 645 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:06,133 Lockroy had not made his final decision yet, 646 00:32:06,133 --> 00:32:09,566 but he seemed to favor the iron tower. 647 00:32:09,566 --> 00:32:13,133 The traditionalists demanded an open competition be held. 648 00:32:13,133 --> 00:32:16,566 So Lockroy drew up the rules. 649 00:32:16,566 --> 00:32:19,133 This document in France's National Archives 650 00:32:19,133 --> 00:32:21,133 details one important requirement 651 00:32:21,133 --> 00:32:24,166 for a building design to be considered. 652 00:32:24,166 --> 00:32:26,566 -So, in this box, there was a file devoted 653 00:32:26,566 --> 00:32:29,333 to the 1889 preparatory competition 654 00:32:29,333 --> 00:32:30,800 for the World's Fair, 655 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:34,166 with an extract from theJournal Officiel. 656 00:32:34,166 --> 00:32:37,833 And when you read article nine in particular, it said, 657 00:32:37,833 --> 00:32:40,400 "Competitors will be asked to study the possibility 658 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:43,933 of erecting an iron tower on the Champ de Mars, 659 00:32:43,933 --> 00:32:49,700 with a 125-square-meter base and 300 meters high." 660 00:32:49,700 --> 00:32:53,800 -So the competition was completely biased, 661 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:56,766 since the definition given was exactly the same 662 00:32:56,766 --> 00:33:00,466 as the Eiffel Tower, with the same dimensions, 663 00:33:00,466 --> 00:33:04,300 the same technical characteristics, and so on. 664 00:33:04,300 --> 00:33:06,200 -Everything was done to ensure 665 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:07,933 that Eiffel would win the competition 666 00:33:07,933 --> 00:33:09,966 and that the competitors would find themselves 667 00:33:09,966 --> 00:33:13,133 stuck in the case of a tight competition. 668 00:33:13,133 --> 00:33:17,233 ♪♪ 669 00:33:17,233 --> 00:33:19,400 -Bourdais realized he'd been tricked. 670 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:22,133 His Colonne-Soleil, or sun tower, 671 00:33:22,133 --> 00:33:25,766 would not qualify for the competition. 672 00:33:25,766 --> 00:33:30,100 He quickly designed a new iron-framed version. 673 00:33:30,100 --> 00:33:32,166 But competitors only had two weeks 674 00:33:32,166 --> 00:33:36,000 until they had to present their projects. 675 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:37,800 -Unlike the other competitors, 676 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:40,233 Eiffel had the time not only to propose a design, 677 00:33:40,233 --> 00:33:42,000 but also to propose the beginnings 678 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:43,766 of a technical solution. 679 00:33:43,766 --> 00:33:46,566 Because it's not just a matter of drawing a 300-meter tower. 680 00:33:46,566 --> 00:33:49,933 It's also a matter of explaining what it's going to be made of, 681 00:33:49,933 --> 00:33:52,766 how long it will take to build, and how it will stand up. 682 00:33:55,566 --> 00:33:57,566 -This biased competition 683 00:33:57,566 --> 00:33:59,733 provoked an outcry in the press, 684 00:33:59,733 --> 00:34:03,833 but 107 projects were still submitted. 685 00:34:03,833 --> 00:34:06,733 Short on time, competitors copied the Eiffel Tower 686 00:34:06,733 --> 00:34:09,566 with varying degrees of imagination. 687 00:34:09,566 --> 00:34:11,200 Here, a glass roof was added, 688 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:14,000 and there, a bridge straddling the Seine. 689 00:34:16,633 --> 00:34:21,566 On May 28th, the jury reached the unsurprising conclusion 690 00:34:21,566 --> 00:34:23,900 that the Eiffel Tower was the only project 691 00:34:23,900 --> 00:34:27,433 to meet the competition's requirements fully. 692 00:34:27,433 --> 00:34:29,366 The engineer now had free rein 693 00:34:29,366 --> 00:34:34,566 to build what would become the world's tallest tower. 694 00:34:34,566 --> 00:34:37,900 But the exhibition would open in less than three years, 695 00:34:37,900 --> 00:34:40,566 and new problems continued to mount. 696 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,000 Against Eiffel's advice, the tower, 697 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:48,233 which was intended to be in the center of the Champ de Mars, 698 00:34:48,233 --> 00:34:50,566 was moved to the banks of the Seine 699 00:34:50,566 --> 00:34:53,233 to serve as the gateway to the exhibition. 700 00:34:53,233 --> 00:35:04,233 ♪♪ 701 00:35:04,233 --> 00:35:06,833 The ground near the Seine was waterlogged, 702 00:35:06,833 --> 00:35:08,566 making the structural requirements 703 00:35:08,566 --> 00:35:12,700 for the tower's foundation much more complicated. 704 00:35:12,700 --> 00:35:14,600 Manufacturers had underestimated 705 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:16,300 the difficulty of building elevators 706 00:35:16,300 --> 00:35:18,600 that moved up an inclined plane, 707 00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:21,566 and cost estimates soared. 708 00:35:21,566 --> 00:35:23,700 Two residents of the Champ de Mars 709 00:35:23,700 --> 00:35:25,300 took the project to court 710 00:35:25,300 --> 00:35:27,966 to prevent the tower from being built. 711 00:35:27,966 --> 00:35:30,366 And by the end of 1886, 712 00:35:30,366 --> 00:35:33,200 the agreement between the state and the engineer 713 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:35,166 had still not been signed. 714 00:35:35,166 --> 00:35:38,233 ♪♪ 715 00:35:38,233 --> 00:35:41,566 Six precious months had been lost. 716 00:35:43,766 --> 00:35:45,733 -[ Speaking French ] 717 00:35:55,566 --> 00:35:57,233 -Eiffel's opponents may have wondered 718 00:35:57,233 --> 00:35:59,300 if tradition might still prevail. 719 00:35:59,300 --> 00:36:01,500 The most illustrious representatives 720 00:36:01,500 --> 00:36:04,166 of the Beaux-Arts met in a Parisian salon 721 00:36:04,166 --> 00:36:05,966 for their alumni banquet. 722 00:36:05,966 --> 00:36:09,766 Charles Garnier, the architect of the famous Paris Opera House, 723 00:36:09,766 --> 00:36:11,366 mocked Eiffel's 724 00:36:11,366 --> 00:36:13,366 proposed creation. 725 00:36:15,700 --> 00:36:17,900 The tower was on everyone's mind 726 00:36:17,900 --> 00:36:20,333 and the subject of every conversation. 727 00:36:20,333 --> 00:36:23,300 Some believed that the tide could still turn. 728 00:36:23,300 --> 00:36:25,766 Construction hadn't even started yet, 729 00:36:25,766 --> 00:36:29,300 and less than two years remained until the opening of the fair. 730 00:36:35,166 --> 00:36:36,600 -[ Speaking French ] 731 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:39,700 -"Mr. Minister, the difficulties beyond my control 732 00:36:39,700 --> 00:36:42,233 that have so far prevented the signing of a contract 733 00:36:42,233 --> 00:36:44,966 have already put me several months behind schedule. 734 00:36:44,966 --> 00:36:46,900 If I were not in a position to start the work 735 00:36:46,900 --> 00:36:50,300 in the first days of January, for which I am absolutely ready, 736 00:36:50,300 --> 00:36:53,233 it would be quite impossible for me to complete it on time." 737 00:36:53,233 --> 00:36:55,966 -After three years of constant challenges, 738 00:36:55,966 --> 00:36:59,566 Gustave Eiffel had spent a lot of money and energy. 739 00:36:59,566 --> 00:37:02,633 His gamble had become very risky, 740 00:37:02,633 --> 00:37:04,666 and the clock was ticking. 741 00:37:04,666 --> 00:37:06,633 -"Therefore, if by December 31st 742 00:37:06,633 --> 00:37:08,566 we are unable to reach an agreement, 743 00:37:08,566 --> 00:37:10,233 I will regretfully be obliged 744 00:37:10,233 --> 00:37:12,566 to relieve myself of my responsibility 745 00:37:12,566 --> 00:37:14,333 and withdraw my proposals, 746 00:37:14,333 --> 00:37:17,233 renouncing the construction of my building for the Exhibition, 747 00:37:17,233 --> 00:37:21,833 which everyone agreed would be one of its main attractions." 748 00:37:21,833 --> 00:37:25,700 -What broke the deadlock was Lockroy's direct intervention 749 00:37:25,700 --> 00:37:29,966 to say, "We can't afford to miss the World's Fair. 750 00:37:29,966 --> 00:37:34,100 We decided that the emblem of the Universal Exhibition 751 00:37:34,100 --> 00:37:37,566 would be Monsieur Eiffel's tower. 752 00:37:37,566 --> 00:37:41,566 Now we have to go all the way. We have to sign the Convention." 753 00:37:44,300 --> 00:37:47,100 -On January 8, 1887, 754 00:37:47,100 --> 00:37:51,133 the French government finally signed the agreement. 755 00:37:51,133 --> 00:37:53,566 Eiffel obtained a license for the planned 756 00:37:53,566 --> 00:37:57,766 20-year lifetime of the tower to recoup his costs. 757 00:37:57,766 --> 00:38:00,366 But if he didn't complete the tower on time, 758 00:38:00,366 --> 00:38:02,200 the state would take control 759 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:04,666 and Eiffel would lose his investment. 760 00:38:06,733 --> 00:38:09,033 Less than two and a half years remained 761 00:38:09,033 --> 00:38:11,733 to build the world's tallest building. 762 00:38:13,166 --> 00:38:19,400 ♪♪ 763 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:21,200 On January 26th, 764 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:24,566 opposite the Trocadéro and Jules Bourdais' palace, 765 00:38:24,566 --> 00:38:28,366 construction of the Eiffel Tower began on the Champ de Mars. 766 00:38:28,366 --> 00:38:30,733 / 767 00:38:30,733 --> 00:38:33,900 Charles Garnier, who had mocked Eiffel's project, 768 00:38:33,900 --> 00:38:37,700 was appointed consulting architect of the fair. 769 00:38:37,700 --> 00:38:39,833 But the tower would be built. 770 00:38:39,833 --> 00:38:43,833 ♪♪ 771 00:38:43,833 --> 00:38:47,000 [ Tools scraping ] 772 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:50,366 Just as construction on the tower got under way, though, 773 00:38:50,366 --> 00:38:53,600 Eiffel had to deal with yet another bombshell. 774 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:55,800 -"We have come, writers, painters, 775 00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:58,400 sculptors, architects, passionate lovers 776 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:01,000 of the hitherto untouched beauty of Paris, 777 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:05,800 to protest with all our might, with all our indignation." 778 00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:08,700 -On February 1, 1887, 779 00:39:08,700 --> 00:39:11,733 readers ofLe Temps discovered a long and virulent 780 00:39:11,733 --> 00:39:14,766 "Artists' Protest" in their daily newspaper. 781 00:39:16,966 --> 00:39:19,233 -"A gigantic, black factory chimney, 782 00:39:19,233 --> 00:39:21,433 crushing Notre-Dame, the Sainte-Chapelle, 783 00:39:21,433 --> 00:39:23,933 the Tour Saint-Jacques, the Louvre, the Invalides dome, 784 00:39:23,933 --> 00:39:26,900 the Arc de Triomphe, with its barbaric mass. 785 00:39:26,900 --> 00:39:28,566 All our monuments humiliated. 786 00:39:28,566 --> 00:39:31,333 The tower that commercial America itself wouldn't want. 787 00:39:31,333 --> 00:39:34,333 It is, without doubt, the disgrace of Paris." 788 00:39:36,733 --> 00:39:39,433 -Among the signatories were Beaux-Arts luminaries 789 00:39:39,433 --> 00:39:43,833 like composer Charles Gounod and painter Jean Leon Gerome, 790 00:39:43,833 --> 00:39:46,900 who had both attended the alumni banquet. 791 00:39:46,900 --> 00:39:48,566 They were joined by writers and poets 792 00:39:48,566 --> 00:39:52,333 like Alexandre Dumas Fils, Francois Coppée, 793 00:39:52,333 --> 00:39:55,766 Sully Prudhomme, and Guy de Maupassant. 794 00:39:55,766 --> 00:39:58,133 But one name stood out -- 795 00:39:58,133 --> 00:40:02,300 Charles Garnier, the fair's consulting architect. 796 00:40:02,300 --> 00:40:03,900 This was the first time 797 00:40:03,900 --> 00:40:06,933 he'd publicly attacked the iron tower. 798 00:40:06,933 --> 00:40:09,633 -He was one of the main instigators of the whole thing. 799 00:40:09,633 --> 00:40:12,133 Garnier was so recognized by his peers, 800 00:40:12,133 --> 00:40:14,566 he was one of the leaders. 801 00:40:14,566 --> 00:40:17,566 He was forced to take center stage. 802 00:40:17,566 --> 00:40:20,833 It was hard to understand why he  shouldn'tbe the one to do it. 803 00:40:20,833 --> 00:40:24,933 ♪♪ 804 00:40:24,933 --> 00:40:26,733 -With signatures like these, 805 00:40:26,733 --> 00:40:28,900 the protest could have been devastating. 806 00:40:33,400 --> 00:40:36,900 But the complaining artists made a strategic error. 807 00:40:36,900 --> 00:40:39,333 They published their protest inLe Temps, 808 00:40:39,333 --> 00:40:41,833 the leading newspaper of the day. 809 00:40:41,833 --> 00:40:44,800 Le Tempswas run by prominent newspaper owner 810 00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:48,433 and senator Adrien Hébrard. 811 00:40:48,433 --> 00:40:52,566 -Adrien Hébrard, well, he was a close friend of Eiffel, 812 00:40:52,566 --> 00:40:54,800 a very close friend. 813 00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:57,000 And Adrien Hébrard warned Eiffel 814 00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:02,066 that he had received this protest from the artists. 815 00:41:03,766 --> 00:41:06,566 -Eiffel immediately prepared his response, 816 00:41:06,566 --> 00:41:11,433 which was published on the same day, in the same paper. 817 00:41:11,433 --> 00:41:13,566 -"Because we're engineers, does that mean 818 00:41:13,566 --> 00:41:15,433 that beauty doesn't preoccupy us? 819 00:41:15,433 --> 00:41:18,166 And while we're making solid, durable products, 820 00:41:18,166 --> 00:41:22,400 are we not striving to make them elegant?" 821 00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:25,100 -The effect the artists hoped for 822 00:41:25,100 --> 00:41:28,366 was broken by the confrontation of two choices. 823 00:41:28,366 --> 00:41:31,033 One choice was an aesthetic one 824 00:41:31,033 --> 00:41:32,600 that Eiffel could denounce 825 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:37,033 as outdated and completely outmoded, 826 00:41:37,033 --> 00:41:40,133 faced with the choice of modernity, 827 00:41:40,133 --> 00:41:43,033 progress, and a new aesthetic. 828 00:41:45,233 --> 00:41:49,333 -"Among the signatories are men I admire and esteem. 829 00:41:49,333 --> 00:41:51,766 There are others who are known for painting pretty little women 830 00:41:51,766 --> 00:41:53,800 putting flowers on their bodices 831 00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:57,433 or for having wittily turned a few vaudeville verses. 832 00:41:57,433 --> 00:42:01,400 Well, frankly, I don't think this is all of France." 833 00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:04,233 -The protesting artists were ridiculed. 834 00:42:04,233 --> 00:42:07,166 ♪♪ 835 00:42:07,166 --> 00:42:10,200 -"Dear Mr. Eiffel, I read in tonight'sTemps 836 00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:13,366 that you're surprised to see my signature on this petition. 837 00:42:13,366 --> 00:42:16,733 I'm not surprised to see it there, since I put it there. 838 00:42:16,733 --> 00:42:20,600 But what surprises me is it's now completely unnecessary." 839 00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:23,166 -Garnier's signature was on the petition. 840 00:42:23,166 --> 00:42:26,800 How would he explain his public condemnation of the tower? 841 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:28,566 -"When I signed it, it was before 842 00:42:28,566 --> 00:42:30,366 the official treaty was concluded, 843 00:42:30,366 --> 00:42:32,833 but once the thing was decided, I declared everywhere 844 00:42:32,833 --> 00:42:34,900 that since your tower was to rise, 845 00:42:34,900 --> 00:42:37,766 from then on it had to be as good as possible." 846 00:42:37,766 --> 00:42:39,766 -So it's a pirouette, a way of saying, 847 00:42:39,766 --> 00:42:41,400 "I'm keeping my ideas to myself, 848 00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:45,133 but, naturally, I'm not going to stop you." 849 00:42:45,133 --> 00:42:50,033 -Now Eiffel could devote himself to the project. 850 00:42:50,033 --> 00:42:52,566 The technical challenge was immense, 851 00:42:52,566 --> 00:42:54,100 and the engineer had to prove 852 00:42:54,100 --> 00:42:57,366 that France was indeed at the forefront of progress. 853 00:42:57,366 --> 00:42:59,733 ♪♪ 854 00:42:59,733 --> 00:43:04,666 How to build a solid foundation was the first problem to solve. 855 00:43:04,666 --> 00:43:07,566 How could the two pylons be erected near the Seine 856 00:43:07,566 --> 00:43:10,800 in waterlogged soil? 857 00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:12,966 The engineer remembered a technique he used 858 00:43:12,966 --> 00:43:15,200 at the start of his career in Bordeaux -- 859 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:17,633 using pressurized caissons. 860 00:43:17,633 --> 00:43:28,300 ♪♪ 861 00:43:28,300 --> 00:43:32,100 Compressed air was injected into the caissons. 862 00:43:32,100 --> 00:43:34,133 This flushed the water out of the ground, 863 00:43:34,133 --> 00:43:37,633 which consequently allowed workers to dig with dry feet, 864 00:43:37,633 --> 00:43:41,566 until they reached bedrock, 45 feet below ground. 865 00:43:41,566 --> 00:43:44,566 The caisson was then filled with cement and stone 866 00:43:44,566 --> 00:43:48,800 to secure the foundations -- a complete success. 867 00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:54,566 On July 1, 1887, the tower began to rise. 868 00:43:54,566 --> 00:43:57,933 Perhaps surprisingly, there were very few workers at the site 869 00:43:57,933 --> 00:43:59,933 near the banks of the Seine. 870 00:43:59,933 --> 00:44:03,700 The tower was built in sections in Eiffel's workshops, 871 00:44:03,700 --> 00:44:06,766 a few miles from the Champ de Mars. 872 00:44:06,766 --> 00:44:08,566 [ Clanging ] 873 00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:20,100 -The Eiffel Tower was built on the principle 874 00:44:20,100 --> 00:44:22,100 of assembling elementary parts, 875 00:44:22,100 --> 00:44:25,733 which were either flat sheet metal or angle iron, 876 00:44:25,733 --> 00:44:28,600 and then doing the final assembly on site. 877 00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:32,000 There were 2,500,000 rivets in all. 878 00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:34,366 Half were installed in the Levallois-Perret plant, 879 00:44:34,366 --> 00:44:35,966 the other half on site. 880 00:44:35,966 --> 00:44:38,333 This is really the principle of modern construction -- 881 00:44:38,333 --> 00:44:40,000 you could say kit-building today. 882 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:42,033 Building prefabricated elements, 883 00:44:42,033 --> 00:44:46,333 prefabricated in the factory, and simply assembled on site. 884 00:44:46,333 --> 00:44:51,966 ♪♪ 885 00:44:51,966 --> 00:44:55,200 -The futuristic structure gradually grew taller. 886 00:44:55,200 --> 00:45:01,266 ♪♪ 887 00:45:01,266 --> 00:45:04,033 The critical step in the monument's construction 888 00:45:04,033 --> 00:45:07,166 was joining the four feet that formed its base. 889 00:45:07,166 --> 00:45:12,633 ♪♪ 890 00:45:12,633 --> 00:45:14,900 -Pylons spaced 100 meters apart, 891 00:45:14,900 --> 00:45:16,966 each going in a different direction. 892 00:45:16,966 --> 00:45:19,200 The beams connecting them would have to fit together 893 00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:20,966 extremely precisely. 894 00:45:20,966 --> 00:45:23,800 The holes in the parts had to meet exactly. 895 00:45:23,800 --> 00:45:25,566 It wasn't a question of them being offset, 896 00:45:25,566 --> 00:45:28,400 otherwise you wouldn't be able to simply drive the rivet in. 897 00:45:28,400 --> 00:45:31,600 So it was very high precision, down to the millimeter, 898 00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:33,366 to the tenth of a millimeter. 899 00:45:33,366 --> 00:45:35,566 So we were going to have to find ways of adjusting 900 00:45:35,566 --> 00:45:38,600 the angle of inclination of these four large pillars. 901 00:45:40,833 --> 00:45:44,900 -Connecting the base required two processes. 902 00:45:44,900 --> 00:45:46,966 First, hydraulic cylinders 903 00:45:46,966 --> 00:45:49,033 lifted the enormous masses of metal 904 00:45:49,033 --> 00:45:52,766 just slightly off the ground. 905 00:45:52,766 --> 00:45:56,000 Then, boxes of sand were gradually emptied 906 00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:58,566 to tilt the pylons. 907 00:45:58,566 --> 00:46:01,066 These steps ensured the rivets would join 908 00:46:01,066 --> 00:46:05,233 the pylons and crossbeams together perfectly. 909 00:46:05,233 --> 00:46:08,400 Less than a year after the first sod was turned, 910 00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:11,733 the feet were joined without incident. 911 00:46:11,733 --> 00:46:16,566 ♪♪ 912 00:46:16,566 --> 00:46:17,933 -The foundations had been laid, 913 00:46:17,933 --> 00:46:19,566 the steel structure was in place, 914 00:46:19,566 --> 00:46:23,033 and now all that needed to be done was to climb 1,000 feet. 915 00:46:23,033 --> 00:46:24,966 As soon as the second floor was completed, 916 00:46:24,966 --> 00:46:28,000 the site was almost certain to be finished. 917 00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:33,566 ♪♪ 918 00:46:33,566 --> 00:46:37,300 -Construction moved ahead at breakneck speed. 919 00:46:37,300 --> 00:46:39,733 As the tower continued to rise, 920 00:46:39,733 --> 00:46:42,333 its critics were left silent. 921 00:46:42,333 --> 00:46:46,600 ♪♪ 922 00:46:46,600 --> 00:46:48,400 [ Clanging ] 923 00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:56,766 ♪♪ 924 00:46:56,766 --> 00:46:58,933 On April 1, 1888, 925 00:46:58,933 --> 00:47:03,433 the first floor, 190 feet high, was completed. 926 00:47:03,433 --> 00:47:06,333 The second floor, 377 feet up, 927 00:47:06,333 --> 00:47:09,333 was finished on August 14th. 928 00:47:09,333 --> 00:47:14,033 A few months later, the tower reached a height of 550 feet, 929 00:47:14,033 --> 00:47:16,400 surpassing the Washington Monument. 930 00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:21,000 It was now the world's tallest building. 931 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:24,700 The construction site attracted throngs of visitors. 932 00:47:24,700 --> 00:47:28,700 No one wanted to miss the progress. 933 00:47:28,700 --> 00:47:32,100 [ Excited conversations ] 934 00:47:32,100 --> 00:47:33,700 -People were very interested in it, 935 00:47:33,700 --> 00:47:35,400 wondering how it was going to be built, 936 00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:37,166 what it would look like on the Champ de Mars. 937 00:47:37,166 --> 00:47:39,433 -One of its signs of the progress of the Eiffel Tower 938 00:47:39,433 --> 00:47:41,166 is that you could photograph it once a week 939 00:47:41,166 --> 00:47:44,400 and it seemed to be growing like a tree in the tropics. 940 00:47:48,033 --> 00:47:49,766 -Like everyone else, 941 00:47:49,766 --> 00:47:52,800 Jules Bourdais watched the tower rise. 942 00:47:52,800 --> 00:47:54,166 He even took a photo of it 943 00:47:54,166 --> 00:47:57,900 from the terrace of his Trocadéro palace. 944 00:47:57,900 --> 00:47:59,766 -Bourdais couldn't be on the sidelines. 945 00:47:59,766 --> 00:48:02,166 He had to be in a state of expectation. 946 00:48:02,166 --> 00:48:04,200 "Would this challenge succeed or not?" 947 00:48:04,200 --> 00:48:06,133 He couldn't be indifferent. 948 00:48:06,133 --> 00:48:07,366 [ Cannon fires ] 949 00:48:07,366 --> 00:48:09,433 [ Crowd cheering and applauding ] 950 00:48:09,433 --> 00:48:15,300 ♪♪ 951 00:48:15,300 --> 00:48:18,700 -On March 31, 1889, 952 00:48:18,700 --> 00:48:21,833 the Eiffel Tower opened on schedule. 953 00:48:21,833 --> 00:48:24,166 Only the elevators were delayed, 954 00:48:24,166 --> 00:48:26,300 forcing Gustave Eiffel and the officials 955 00:48:26,300 --> 00:48:30,566 to climb the 1,792 steps to the top. 956 00:48:30,566 --> 00:48:33,966 ♪♪ 957 00:48:33,966 --> 00:48:36,900 The engineer had met the challenge. 958 00:48:36,900 --> 00:48:39,566 His tower was a triumph for progress 959 00:48:39,566 --> 00:48:41,766 and the glory of the French Republic. 960 00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:44,933 [ Fireworks popping ] 961 00:48:44,933 --> 00:48:46,933 ♪♪ 962 00:48:46,933 --> 00:48:49,766 The World's Fair opened a month later 963 00:48:49,766 --> 00:48:53,600 with the world's first 1,000-foot tower. 964 00:48:53,600 --> 00:48:56,366 It was an instant hit with the public. 965 00:48:56,366 --> 00:49:06,900 ♪♪ 966 00:49:06,900 --> 00:49:10,133 Within six months, almost two million visitors 967 00:49:10,133 --> 00:49:12,166 had made the ascent. 968 00:49:12,166 --> 00:49:16,366 Gustave Eiffel recouped his initial investment in full. 969 00:49:16,366 --> 00:49:20,000 The contentious tower had become a national icon. 970 00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:26,400 ♪♪ 971 00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:30,233 -The Eiffel Tower, once hissed at and scorned, 972 00:49:30,233 --> 00:49:33,766 gradually became not only the symbol of Paris, 973 00:49:33,766 --> 00:49:35,933 but France as a whole. 974 00:49:35,933 --> 00:49:37,600 In other words, the Eiffel Tower 975 00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:41,966 was declared to be a truly French work of art. 976 00:49:41,966 --> 00:49:45,766 It was an expression of French genius. 977 00:49:45,766 --> 00:49:47,900 -The tower's critics had little to say 978 00:49:47,900 --> 00:49:49,800 but refused to embrace it. 979 00:49:49,800 --> 00:49:52,966 The fair's consulting architect, Charles Garnier, 980 00:49:52,966 --> 00:49:57,433 was present at the inauguration, but he did not climb the tower. 981 00:49:57,433 --> 00:49:59,100 -He was so active. 982 00:49:59,100 --> 00:50:02,366 Once again, he was the leader of the artists' protest. 983 00:50:02,366 --> 00:50:07,700 He was the most prolific in satirizing the Eiffel Tower. 984 00:50:07,700 --> 00:50:10,100 Obviously, he'd put himself out there on this subject 985 00:50:10,100 --> 00:50:13,766 and was vulnerable, so he was sulking. 986 00:50:13,766 --> 00:50:15,333 -The indisputable success 987 00:50:15,333 --> 00:50:20,133 left Garnier little room for criticism. 988 00:50:20,133 --> 00:50:21,566 The guestbook included 989 00:50:21,566 --> 00:50:24,100 some of the biggest names in the world. 990 00:50:24,100 --> 00:50:26,566 The Prince and Princess of Wales... 991 00:50:26,566 --> 00:50:29,000 Princess Isabella of Spain... 992 00:50:29,000 --> 00:50:31,933 Buffalo Bill... Sarah Bernhardt... 993 00:50:31,933 --> 00:50:34,300 and Thomas Edison. 994 00:50:34,300 --> 00:50:37,333 -Very quickly, the tower became internationally renowned. 995 00:50:37,333 --> 00:50:39,733 A lot of articles appeared in the newspapers. 996 00:50:39,733 --> 00:50:41,733 People really marveled at it. 997 00:50:41,733 --> 00:50:45,366 Journalists really got excited about it. 998 00:50:45,366 --> 00:50:48,633 -It was a feat. It was perceived as a feat. 999 00:50:48,633 --> 00:50:51,766 It could also be the source of a certain bitterness at times, 1000 00:50:51,766 --> 00:50:53,633 since the English in particular 1001 00:50:53,633 --> 00:50:57,833 also had very advanced knowledge of metal architecture. 1002 00:50:57,833 --> 00:51:00,633 Gustave Eiffel succeeded in doing something 1003 00:51:00,633 --> 00:51:02,466 that, in all likelihood, 1004 00:51:02,466 --> 00:51:06,633 English engineers were also capable of doing. 1005 00:51:06,633 --> 00:51:09,366 ♪♪ 1006 00:51:09,366 --> 00:51:13,200 -The tower was an astounding triumph for the fair, 1007 00:51:13,200 --> 00:51:16,700 but its story continued on after the fair closed. 1008 00:51:16,700 --> 00:51:27,300 ♪♪ 1009 00:51:27,300 --> 00:51:30,300 Eiffel retired from the company that bore his name 1010 00:51:30,300 --> 00:51:34,333 and devoted himself to meteorology and aerodynamics. 1011 00:51:34,333 --> 00:51:54,400 ♪♪ 1012 00:51:54,400 --> 00:51:56,733 But in December 1903, 1013 00:51:56,733 --> 00:52:00,633 a young army officer, Captain Gustave Ferrié, 1014 00:52:00,633 --> 00:52:03,300 paid the engineer a visit. 1015 00:52:03,300 --> 00:52:05,566 Convinced that wireless telegraphy 1016 00:52:05,566 --> 00:52:07,100 represented the future, 1017 00:52:07,100 --> 00:52:10,366 Ferrié spent considerable time researching it. 1018 00:52:10,366 --> 00:52:13,333 -Gustave Ferrié was an engineering officer 1019 00:52:13,333 --> 00:52:16,600 with a polytechnic degree who understood that radio 1020 00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:20,400 could be an extremely important tool for the army. 1021 00:52:20,400 --> 00:52:22,300 Captain Ferrié quickly realized 1022 00:52:22,300 --> 00:52:25,300 that the tower rising 300 meters above the roofs of Paris 1023 00:52:25,300 --> 00:52:27,733 would enable long-distance communication. 1024 00:52:27,733 --> 00:52:30,933 The challenge was to communicate with forts in Eastern France. 1025 00:52:30,933 --> 00:52:32,766 The Vosges Line marked the border with Germany, 1026 00:52:32,766 --> 00:52:37,766 so there was a strategic need for long-distance communication. 1027 00:52:37,766 --> 00:52:39,566 -Eiffel was intrigued. 1028 00:52:39,566 --> 00:52:41,300 As a patriot, he offered 1029 00:52:41,300 --> 00:52:44,400 to pay the cost of moving troops into the tower. 1030 00:52:44,400 --> 00:52:47,833 ♪♪ 1031 00:52:47,833 --> 00:52:51,300 His alliance with Captain Ferrié proved vital. 1032 00:52:51,300 --> 00:52:53,700 ♪♪ 1033 00:52:53,700 --> 00:52:55,366 In just a few months, 1034 00:52:55,366 --> 00:52:58,766 the captain's small team began to see success, 1035 00:52:58,766 --> 00:53:01,666 and by 1906, they could communicate 1036 00:53:01,666 --> 00:53:04,633 with the eastern frontier. 1037 00:53:04,633 --> 00:53:07,800 This was a huge step forward for the army. 1038 00:53:07,800 --> 00:53:11,166 The Eiffel Tower was now critically strategic, 1039 00:53:11,166 --> 00:53:12,933 and there would never be any doubt 1040 00:53:12,933 --> 00:53:15,766 about the structure's permanence. 1041 00:53:15,766 --> 00:53:18,633 Jules Bourdais' palace on the Trocadéro 1042 00:53:18,633 --> 00:53:22,733 was demolished in 1935 for another World's Fair 1043 00:53:22,733 --> 00:53:25,433 and replaced by the Palais de Chaillot. 1044 00:53:25,433 --> 00:53:27,433 ♪♪ 1045 00:53:27,433 --> 00:53:32,933 When Gustave Eiffel died on December 27, 1923, 1046 00:53:32,933 --> 00:53:36,100 his tower had been the world's tallest building 1047 00:53:36,100 --> 00:53:38,300 for 34 years. 1048 00:53:39,433 --> 00:53:42,366 But just seven years after Eiffel's death, 1049 00:53:42,366 --> 00:53:43,933 the "Iron Lady" was dethroned 1050 00:53:43,933 --> 00:53:47,833 by the 1,046-foot-tall Chrysler Building. 1051 00:53:47,833 --> 00:53:49,800 [ Siren wailing ] 1052 00:53:49,800 --> 00:53:52,333 ♪♪ 1053 00:53:52,333 --> 00:53:54,900 A year later, the Empire State Building 1054 00:53:54,900 --> 00:53:59,700 went even further -- 1,250 feet. 1055 00:53:59,700 --> 00:54:01,866 With its iron framework, 1056 00:54:01,866 --> 00:54:06,333 the Eiffel Tower paved the way for modern skyscrapers. 1057 00:54:06,333 --> 00:54:08,200 The need to reach for the heavens 1058 00:54:08,200 --> 00:54:10,400 is now a global phenomenon, 1059 00:54:10,400 --> 00:54:14,133 extending to Asia and the Middle East. 1060 00:54:14,133 --> 00:54:17,800 In 2009, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai 1061 00:54:17,800 --> 00:54:20,100 became the world's tallest tower 1062 00:54:20,100 --> 00:54:23,566 at 2,716 feet. 1063 00:54:25,700 --> 00:54:28,300 More than 30 towers worldwide 1064 00:54:28,300 --> 00:54:32,166 have now surpassed the Eiffel Tower... 1065 00:54:32,166 --> 00:54:35,766 but the Iron Lady will always be the first 1066 00:54:35,766 --> 00:54:38,200 to have reached the mythical height 1067 00:54:38,200 --> 00:54:40,400 of 1,000 feet.