CHAPTER 5

The Tower Is Open

On May 15, 1889, the Eiffel Tower officially opened to the public. Gustave Eiffel was the first to sign the guest book: “Ten minutes to twelve, May 15, 1889. The tower is opened to the public. At last!”

Thousands bought tickets. Gustave had paid for most of the construction himself—about $36 million in today’s money. The line of ticket-buyers meant the tower would be a success. In fact, Gustave earned all his money back in less than a year.

Because of still-unfinished elevators, the crowds trudged up the iron stairs. They felt the wind blowing harder as they climbed higher. They noticed the engraved names of seventy-two important French scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, and the names of the 199 men who had worked on the tower.

In a tiny office on the second level, Le Figaro, a popular newspaper, set up a printing press. Their daily newsletter would cover news from the tower. The names of visitors in the guest book would also be published in the paper.

Nearby, visitors could send messages from the new telegraph office.

The Washington Monument

Most people praised the tower, but some American visitors had mixed feelings about this new landmark. They were in awe of it, but they were also bothered. Until then, the 555-foot Washington Monument, in Washington, DC, had been the tallest structure in the world. This new iron tower was almost twice as tall.

In his office on the third level, Gustave was frustrated. He couldn’t stop thinking about the elevator problem. From the very beginning, he had been in charge of every detail of the tower, but he had needed the Otis company to build and install the elevators. There was no way around it. A one-thousand-foot building would, of course, require elevators to carry visitors to the top.

Most tall buildings include elevators that move straight up and down. But Gustave had always wanted something more unusual for his visitors. He wanted them to see and admire every one of the eighteen thousand pieces of iron in his masterpiece.

After a great deal of thought, he had decided that he needed two sets of elevators. They would look like glass cages. One set would move straight up two of the legs to the first level. The second set of elevators would travel on a curve up the other two legs from the ground to the second, much higher level. At this point, visitors would then have to change to a final elevator that would carry them the rest of the way.

Now the elevators had finally been installed, but the safety tests hadn’t been performed. Gustave wondered if anyone would ever be able to ride to the top of his beloved creation.

At last, two weeks after the Eiffel Tower’s official opening, a test was done on the elevators’ safety brakes. What would happen if the cables broke? Would the safety brakes stop the elevators from falling? Would the elevators’ glass walls shatter?

Representatives from the Otis Elevator Company had sailed from America to join Gustave for the test. Reporters gathered to watch.

A rope replaced the steel cable. The elevator was filled with lead instead of people. It was time. Everyone waited.

A carpenter raised his hatchet. He cut the rope. The elevator dropped. It swung back and forth. It jerked. It stopped.

The safety brakes held. The elevator had passed its final test. It was ready for visitors.

Finally, in June, the five hydraulic elevators were moving up and down the tower.

As the elevators rose, visitors could look out through the top halves made of glass. They could see Gustave Eiffel’s office, where he welcomed visitors.

Three months later, Thomas Edison paid him a visit. He brought a gift, one of the first phonographs ever used in Europe. It is still in Gustave Eiffel’s office to this day.

At the top, visitors could send letters and postcards from a small post office. They could see a blue, white, and red beacon light that moved across the sky. A cannon that boomed at the beginning and end of the fair each day was up there, too.

The view of Paris was spectacular. Few people had ever seen land from such a height. Some balloonists had risen higher. Some people had climbed taller mountains. But there were no airplanes, so no one had flown. Visitors were amazed as they looked down. Everything on the ground seemed so small.

Gustave had always been interested in weather. So shortly after the tower opened, he installed a small weather station at the top. From there, he was able to measure temperature, wind speed, rain, and snow. The day’s weather was announced in Le Figaro’s daily tower newspaper.

Now that his tower was finished, Gustave could sit in his office and think about what he had accomplished. The fair below was up and running. He had created the perfect entrance. He felt proud.