Gustave Eiffel
Encyclopedia
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (December 15, 1832 – December 27, 1923; efɛl, ˈaɪfəl) was a French structural engineer
Structural engineer
Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants...

 from the École Centrale Paris
École Centrale Paris
École Centrale Paris is a French university-level institution in the field of engineering. It is also known by its original name École centrale des arts et manufactures, or ECP. Founded in 1829, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious engineering schools in France and has the special status...

, an architect, an entrepreneur and a specialist of metallic structures. He is acclaimed for designing the world-famous Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...

, built 1887–1889 for the 1889 Universal Exposition
Exposition Universelle (1889)
The Exposition Universelle of 1889 was a World's Fair held in Paris, France from 6 May to 31 October 1889.It was held during the year of the 100th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, an event traditionally considered as the symbol for the beginning of the French Revolution...

 in Paris, France.

Early life

Gustave Eiffel was born French with the surname Bönickhausen in Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....

, Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or is a department in the eastern part of France.- History :Côte-d'Or is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was formed from part of the former province of Burgundy.- Geography :...

, France. In 1879, his Germanic surname was changed to Eiffel, a sobriquet an ancestor acquired after emigrating, at the beginning of the 18th century, from the German Eifel
Eifel
The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the south of the German-speaking Community of Belgium....

 region (in Marmagen
Nettersheim
Nettersheim is a municipality in the district of Euskirchen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Eifel hills, approx. 20 km south-west of Euskirchen. The rivers Erft and Urft have their source in the municipality....

). During his youth, the two strongest influences on Eiffel were two successful chemists, his uncles Jean-Baptiste Mollerat and Michel Perret. Both men spent a lot of time with young Eiffel, teaching him everything from chemistry and mining to religion and philosophy. Eiffel was extremely clever, but not very studious. While attending high school at Lycée Royal, Eiffel felt that the classes were a waste of time. It was not until his last two years that Eiffel found his niche; not in engineering, but in history and literature. Eiffel's study habits improved and he graduated with a degree in both science and humanities. Eiffel went on to attend college at Sainte Barbe College
Collège Sainte-Barbe
The Collège Sainte-Barbe is a former school in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France.The Collège Sainte-Barbe was founded in 1460 on Montagne Sainte-Geneviève by Pierre Antoine Victor de Lanneau, teacher of religious studies...

 in Paris, in order to prepare for the difficult entrance exams into the most prestigious engineering institutions in France. Ultimately, Eiffel attended the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris where he studied chemistry, receiving the equivalent of a Master of Science degree in 1855. The "École Centrale" was a liberal private school that is now known as one of the top engineering schools in Europe. His mother's coal business provided ample income for the family and provided the funds for Gustave to receive his university education. The year 1855 was the year that Paris hosted the first World's Fair. After graduation, Eiffel's uncle offered him a job at his vinegar works in Dijon, France. However, a family dispute removed that opportunity, and Eiffel soon accepted entry-level employment with a company that designed railway bridges.

Charles Nepveu granted Eiffel with his first job as one of many project managers for a railway bridge located in Bordeaux, France. When during construction fellow engineers were steadily quitting, Eiffel eventually took charge of the entire project. Nepveu saw the work that Eiffel performed on site, and continued to provide him with other positions that involved project management of railway bridges and structures. During these projects, Eiffel met other engineers who recommended him to work on other developments. Charles Nepveu had a strong influence on Eiffel. He is known to have helped him at the start of his career.

Career

Eiffel et Cie., Eiffel's consulting and construction firm, with the support of Belgian Gustave Eiffel also designed La Ruche
La Ruche
La Ruche is an artist's residence at the Paris South-Western outskirts.Located in the "Passage Dantzig," in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, La Ruche was an old three-storey circular structure that got its name because it looked more like a large beehive than any dwelling for humans...

 in Paris, France. This, like the Eiffel Tower, became a city landmark. It is a three-storey circular structure that looks like a large beehivey and was created as a temporary structure for use as a wine rotunda at the Great Exposition of 1900. The French translation of La Ruche is "the beehive". He also constructed the Garabit viaduct
Garabit viaduct
The Garabit Viaduct is a railway arch bridge spanning the Truyère river near Ruynes-en-Margeride , Cantal, France, in the mountainous Massif Central region. The bridge was constructed between 1880 and 1884 by Gustave Eiffel, with structural engineering by Maurice Koechlin, and was opened in 1885...

, a railway bridge near Ruynes en Margeride in the Cantal
Cantal
Cantal is a department in south-central France. It is named after the Cantal mountain range, a group of extinct, eroded volcanic peaks, which covers much of the department. Residents are known as Cantaliens or Cantalous....

 département. In the Americas, Eiffel designed the central railway station in Santiago de Chile (1897) and the Mona Island Light
Mona Island Light
Mona Island Light, also known as Faro de la Isla de la Mona, is a historic lighthouse located on the island of Mona, Puerto Rico, in the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. It is the only lighthouse built of iron and steel in Puerto Rico...

 located near Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

. The lighthouse was built around 1900 by the United States which acquired the island after the end of the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

. It was decommissioned in 1976.

In 1887, Eiffel became involved with the French effort to construct a Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

. The French Panama Canal Company, led by Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand Marie, Vicomte de Lesseps, GCSI was the French developer of the Suez Canal, which joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas in 1869, and substantially reduced sailing distances and times between the West and the East.He attempted to repeat this success with an effort to build a sea-level...

, had been attempting to build a sea-level canal, but came to the realisation that this was impractical. An elevated, lock-based canal was subsequently chosen, and Eiffel was enlisted to design and build the locks. The entire canal project suffered from mismanagement, and collapsed with enormous losses. Eiffel's reputation suffered a severe setback when he was implicated in the financial scandals surrounding de Lesseps and the entrepreneurs backing the project. Eiffel himself had no connection with the finances, and his guilty judgment was later reversed. However, his work was never realised, as the later American-built canal used new lock designs (see History of the Panama Canal
History of the Panama Canal
The history of the Panama Canal goes back almost to the earliest explorers of the Americas. The narrow land bridge between North and South America offers a unique opportunity to create a water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans...

).

After retirement he researched and developed new ideas through practical use of the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...

. The tower enabled him to make advancements in aerodynamics, meteorology, and radio-broadcasting. He built a wind tunnel at the base of the tower for his aerodynamic research, had meteorological equipment placed in various locations on the tower, and suggested that the military install radio equipment atop the tower. In the following years it continued to serve as a permanent radio tower, and eventually for television broadcasting.

Eiffel died on December 27, 1923, listening to Beethoven's 5th. symphony andante, in his mansion on Rue Rabelais in Paris, France. He was interred in the Cimetière de Levallois-Perret.

Gustave Eiffel was known to travel to destinations like Spain, Portugal, Latin America, the Philippines,etc., designing buildings and other structures during his visits.

Impact

The Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

 played an important role in Gustave Eiffel's life. People were traveling across the world, new technologies and materials became available, and countries were industrializing. A lot of Eiffel's work was affected by one or more of these conditions brought by the Industrial Revolution.

The condition that had the most impact on Eiffel's work was transportation. People around the world were demanding safe passages across rivers and were in need of bridges. Building these bridges is how Eiffel gained a reputation as an engineer, which allowed him to pursue larger and more difficult projects later in life. The bridges that he designed were constructed all over the world. The bridges allowed for easier and faster travel and trade in the geographical area in which they were constructed. Many of Eiffel's bridges did not require skilled workers for assembly, which made his bridges a great economical choice.

The Eiffel Tower had a huge impact on France. The tower was the focal point of the Exposition Universelle (1889)
Exposition Universelle (1889)
The Exposition Universelle of 1889 was a World's Fair held in Paris, France from 6 May to 31 October 1889.It was held during the year of the 100th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, an event traditionally considered as the symbol for the beginning of the French Revolution...

 and drew millions of people to Paris. Nearly two million people visited the Eiffel Tower in 1889 alone. The tower quickly became a tourist attraction and brought large amounts of money into France's economy. After originally being thought of as an eyesore (it was actually designed to be torn down easily after the end of the Exposition), the tower quickly became a national symbol of France and brought a sense of pride to the people who live there. In 1910 Gustave Eiffel accomplished extraordinary outcomes in determining the wind resistance of a flat plate; Gustave used the Eiffel Tower as his test platform.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States. Eiffel's design for the interior structural elements of the statue allowed for the statue to become a reality. The statue showed the friendship and respect that was shared between France and the United States. The Statue of Liberty quickly became a national symbol of freedom in the United States and gave citizens a sense of pride. The statue became a great tourist attraction and brought many people to New York, boosting the economy. Several Americans living in France were pleased by the gift to their country and in turn, built a ¼ scale bronze model which stands on the downstream end of the Île aux Cygnes, 1.4 km southwest of the Eiffel Tower.

With all the opportunities the Industrial Revolution brought with it, it also had many challenges. Just as Eiffel had the opportunity to work on more projects in different locations, so did other engineers. Competition for projects was extremely high and the reputation of the engineer played a major role for obtaining projects. Yet another challenge during Eiffel's career was the introduction of new construction materials. Since the new materials had not been proven in projects, engineers took a risk in using them. Many of the bridges Eiffel had built were made from steel which Eiffel had helped pioneer. With the thriving Industrial world of the time. Some of his advancements included: designing a system of hydraulic presses which allowed workers to set bridge foundations deep under water, creating sturdy yet lightweight "web-like" trusses and arches to withstand high winds, using wrought iron for bridge construction because its flexibility could withstand high winds, curving the edges of piers to create more stable bases, and the development of "launching" which is a way to more easily move pieces of structures into place. Eiffel's ingenuity and brilliance allowed him to design and build some of the world's most famous structures.

Less well known to the general public, Gustave Eiffel was a pionner in the science of Meteorology and is the father of the modern science of Aerodynamics, two fields to which he devoted all the last 20 years of his life. Eiffel already used his tower for studies on free fall. In 1909, he builds a first wind tunnel on the Champ-de-Mars. Here are tested the plane wing designs used by WRIGHT, VOISIN, FARMAN, BLERIOT; then on full scale plane models designed by ESNAULT-PELTERIE, NIEUPORT, LEVASSEUR. In 1912, Eiffel builds and finances a larger wind mill in Auteuil, in the suburbs of Paris. This laboratory has since been used for tests in aerodynamics for Cars, Constructions, Boats or Bridges. Many copies of the "Eiffel wind mill" will later be produced all other the world. If their diameter and the speed of the wind (even faster then the speed of sound) will gradualy increase the principles haven't changed.

Buildings and structures

  • Eiffel Tower
    Eiffel Tower
    The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...

    , France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

  • Nice Observatory
    Nice Observatory
    The Observatoire de Nice is an astronomical observatory located in Nice, France on the summit of Mont Gros. The observatory was initiated in 1879 by the banker Raphaël Bischoffsheim...

    , Nice
    Nice
    Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

    , France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

  • Paradis Latin
    Paradis Latin
    The Paradis Latin is a theater at number 28, rue du Cardinal Lemoine, in the Latin Quarter of Paris. The closest métro stations are Cardinal Lemoine and Jussieu. It was first built in 1803 and was initially called Théâtre Latin. It burned down but was rebuilt in 1887-1889 by Gustave Eiffel. It was...

    , Paris, France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

  • The Market, Dijon
    Dijon
    Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....

    , France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

  • The Market, Olhão
    Olhão
    Olhão , or Olhão da Restauração, is a city and a municipality in the Algarve region, in Southern Portugal. It is located near Faro, which is the district's capital and the capital of the Algarve. It is mostly a fishing port city...

    , Portugal
    Portugal
    Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

  • Estación Central (main railway station), Santiago
    Santiago
    Santiago is the capital city of Chile. Santiago may also refer to:*Santiago *Santiago , a Spanish given name*Santiago!, a shortened form of the Reconquista battle cry "Santiago y cierra, España"...

    , Chile
    Chile
    Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

  • Budapest Nyugati Pályaudvar (Western railway station), Budapest
    Budapest
    Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

    , Hungary
    Hungary
    Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

  • Grand Hotel Traian, Iaşi
    Iasi
    Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...

    , Romania
    Romania
    Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

     (1882)
  • Konak Pier
    Konak Pier
    Konak Pier was designed by Gustave Eiffel in 1890, within the boundaries of the central metropolitan district of Konak, near the city's historic center Konak Square in İzmir, Turkey....

    , Izmir
    Izmir
    Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...

    , Turkey
    Turkey
    Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

  • Cathedral of San Pedro de Tacna, Peru
    Peru
    Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

  • El Palacio de Hierro
    El Palacio de Hierro
    El Palacio de Hierro is an upscale chain of department stores in Mexico.-History:In the 1850s, a clothing store opened in Mexico City called "Las Fábricas de Francia" which was owned by Victor Gassier, a Frenchman...

    , Orizaba
    Orizaba
    Orizaba is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located 20 km west of its sister city Córdoba, and is adjacent to Río Blanco and Ixtaczoquitlán, on Federal Highways 180 and 190. The city had a 2005 census population of 117,273 and is almost coextensive with its small...

     Veracruz
    Veracruz
    Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...

    , Mexico
    Mexico
    The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

  • Palácio de Ferro (Iron Palace) in Maputo
    Maputo
    Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...

    , Mozambique
    Mozambique
    Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

  • Palácio de Ferro (Iron Palace), Angola
    Angola
    Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

  • Catedral de Santa María, Chiclayo
    Chiclayo
    Chiclayo is the capital city of the Lambayeque region in northern Peru. It is located 13 kilometers inland from the Pacific coast and 770 kilometers from the nation's capital, Lima...

    , Peru
    Peru
    Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

  • Statue of Liberty
    Statue of Liberty
    The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...

    , Liberty Island
    Liberty Island
    Liberty Island is a small uninhabited island in New York Harbor in the United States, best known as the location of the Statue of Liberty. Though so called since the turn of the century, the name did not become official until 1956. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D...

    , New York Harbor
    New York Harbor
    New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...

    , United States
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

  • Condominio Acero, Monterrey
    Monterrey
    Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...

    , México
    Mexico
    The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

  • The General Post Office, Ho Chi Minh City
    Ho Chi Minh City
    Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...

    , Vietnam
    Vietnam
    Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

  • Church of Santa Barbara, Santa Rosalia, Mexico
    Mexico
    The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

  • San Sebastian Church
    San Sebastian Church
    The Basilica Minore de San Sebastián, better known as San Sebastián Church, is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Manila, the Philippines. It is the seat of the Parish of San Sebastian and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel....

    , Manila
    Manila
    Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

    , Philippines
    Philippines
    The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...


Bridges

  • Birsbrücke, Münchenstein
    Münchenstein
    Münchenstein is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland.-Historical records:Münchenstein is first mentioned in 1196 as Kekingen. In 1270 it was mentioned as Geckingen and in 1279 as Munchenstein.* 1259: The hamlet and the mill, between "Neue...

    , Switzerland which collapsed on 14 June in 1891 killing over 70 people. See Munchenstein rail disaster
    Munchenstein rail disaster
    The Munchenstein rail disaster on 14 June 1891 was historically the worst railway accident ever to affect Switzerland. A crowded passenger train fell through a girder bridge, killing over seventy people and injuring many more...

    .
  • Bridge over the Schelde
    Scheldt
    The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...

     in Temse
    Temse
    Temse is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Elversele, Steendorp, Temse proper and Tielrode. On January 1, 2006 Temse had a total population of 26,287...

    , in Belgium
  • Abu El-Ela Bridge in Cairo
    Cairo
    Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

    , Egypt
    Egypt
    Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

  • Garabit Viaduct
    Garabit viaduct
    The Garabit Viaduct is a railway arch bridge spanning the Truyère river near Ruynes-en-Margeride , Cantal, France, in the mountainous Massif Central region. The bridge was constructed between 1880 and 1884 by Gustave Eiffel, with structural engineering by Maurice Koechlin, and was opened in 1885...

  • Bolívar Bridge, at Arequipa
    Arequipa
    Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...

    , Peru
    Peru
    Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

  • Garonne River Bridge near Bordeaux
    Bordeaux
    Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

     was Eiffel's first project at age 25.
  • Long Bien bridge
    Long Bien Bridge
    Long Bien Bridge is a historic cantilever bridge across the Red River that connects two parts of the city of Hanoi, Vietnam. It was originally called Paul Doumer Bridge.- History :...

    , Hanoi
    Hanoi
    Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...

    , Vietnam
    Vietnam
    Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

  • Maria Pia Bridge
    Maria Pia Bridge
    The Maria Pia bridge , commonly known as Ponte Dona Maria, is a railway bridge built in 1877 by Gustave Eiffel in Porto, Portugal...

     (Porto Viaduct)
  • Railway Bridge near Constitución, Chile
    Chile
    Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

  • Souleuvre Viaduct
    Souleuvre Viaduct
    Viaduc de la Souleuvre is a well-known permanent bungee jumping facility in La Ferrière-Harang, Normandy, France.-History:The Viaduc de la Souleuvre was originally an impressive metallic railway viaduct based on stone pillars over the Souleuvre River, built during the 19th century by the famous...

  • Pont de Ferro o Pont Eiffel in Girona
    Girona
    Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...

    , Spain
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

    . Build in 1876.
  • The Eiffel Bridge in Viana do Castelo's Marina was a Gustav Eiffel's project from 1878.
  • The Eiffel Bridge in Zrenjanin
    Zrenjanin
    Zrenjanin is a city and municipality located in the eastern part of Serbian province of Vojvodina. It is the administrative centre of the Central Banat District of Serbia...

     that was disassembled in the 1960s and is being rebuilt currently.
  • The Railway Bridge over the Coura river in Caminha
    Caminha
    Caminha is a municipality in the north-west of Portugal, 21 km north from Viana do Castelo, located in the Viana do Castelo District.The municipality has a total area of 137.4 km² and 16,839 inhabitants ....

    , Portugal.

  • The road (D50) bridge over the River Lay at Lavaud in the Vendée
    Vendée
    The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...

    , France
  • Truong Tien Bridge is reflected in the Huong river, Hue, Viet Nam.
  • Ghenh Bridge and Rach Cat Bridge in Bien Hoa city, Dong Nai province, Vietnam.
  • Troitsky (Trinity) Bridge in Saint Petersburg
    Saint Petersburg
    Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

    , Russia
  • Quezon Bridge
    Quezon Bridge
    The Puente Colgante, originally called Puente de Claveria, was a suspension bridge that connected the Manila districts of Quiapo and Ermita across the Pasig River in the Philippines. Designed by the Basque engineer Matias Menchacatorre and completed in 1852, it was the first suspension bridge in...

     in Quiapo
    Quiapo, Manila
    Quiapo is a district and city square of Manila. Referred as the "Old Downtown", Quiapo in known for where cheap buys or goods are being sold at rock-bottom prices and was the home of the Quiapo Church, where the feast for the Black Nazarene is held, with over millions of people attending...

     District, Manila
    Manila
    Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

    , Philippines
    Philippines
    The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

  • Eiffel Bridge
    Eiffel Bridge, Ungheni
    The Eiffel Bridge is a bridge over Prut and a checkpoint between Moldova and Romania. The bridge is located between Ungheni and Ungheni, Iaşi.- History :...

     in Ungheni
    Ungheni
    ----Ungheni is the seventh largest city in Moldova and, since 2003, the seat of Ungheni District.There is a bridge across the Prut and a border checkpoint to Romania. There is another border town with the same name in Romania , on the other side of the Prut River.- History :The first historical...

    , between Moldova
    Moldova
    Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...

     and Romania
    Romania
    Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...


Other works

  • Combier Distillery, Saumur (Loire Valley), France
  • Viaduct over the Sioule
    Sioule
    The Sioule is a long river in central France, left tributary of the river Allier. Its source is near the village Orcival, north of Mont-Dore, in the Massif Central. The Sioule has cut a deep gorge, especially in its upper course...

     river (1867)
  • Viaduct at Neuvial (1867)
  • Notre Dame des Champs, Paris (1868)
  • Swing bridge at Dieppe
    Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
    Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...

     (1870)

  • Gasworks of La Paz
    La Paz
    Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...

    , Bolivia
    Bolivia
    Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

  • La Paz Train Station, La Paz
    La Paz
    Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...

    , Bolivia
    Bolivia
    Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

     (now La Paz Bus Station)
  • Casa de Fierro
    Casa de Fierro
    La Casa de Fierro , located in the city of Iquitos in the jungle of Peru, in front of the major square between Próspero and Putumayo streets, is a large iron residence built during the rubber boom at the end of the nineteenth century.La Casa de Fierro is one of the finest as well as best-preserved...

     - Iquitos
    Iquitos
    Iquitos is the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest, with a population of 370,962. It is the capital of Loreto Region and Maynas Province.Located on the Amazon River, it is only above sea level, although it is more than from the mouth of the Amazon at Belém on the Atlantic Ocean...

    , Peru
    Peru
    Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

  • Church in Arica, Chile
    Arica, Chile
    Arica is a commune and a port city with a population of 185,269 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica and Parinacota Region, located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capital of both the Arica Province and the Arica and Parinacota Region...

  • Ornamental Fountain of the Three Graces de Moquegua
    Moquegua
    Moquegua is a city in southern Peru, located in the Moquegua Region, of which it is the regional capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Province and Moquegua District. It is located 1144 kilometers south from the capital city of Lima.-History:...

    , Peru
    Peru
    Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

     (1877)
  • Ruhnu Lighthouse at Ruhnu
    Ruhnu
    Ruhnu is an island situated in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It belongs to Estonia and is an administrative part of Saare County. At 11.9 km2 it has currently less than 100, mostly ethnic Estonian permanent inhabitants...

     island, Estonia
    Estonia
    Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

     (1877)
  • Fenix Theatre, at Arequipa
    Arequipa
    Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...

    , Peru
    Peru
    Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

  • San Camilo Market, at Arequipa
    Arequipa
    Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...

    , Peru
    Peru
    Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

  • Church at Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur, Mexico
  • Bridge over the Tisza
    Tisza
    The Tisza or Tisa is one of the main rivers of Central Europe. It rises in Ukraine, and is formed near Rakhiv by the junction of headwaters White Tisa, whose source is in the Chornohora mountains and Black Tisa, which springs in the Gorgany range...

     near Szeged
    Szeged
    ' is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county town of Csongrád county. The University of Szeged is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary....

    , Hungary
  • Farol de São Thomé in Campos
    Campos dos Goytacazes
    Campos dos Goytacazes is a municipality and city located in the northern area of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a population of 463,545 inhabitants. Its area is 4,031.910 km², which makes it the largest municipality in the state and its elevation is 14 m...

    , Brazil
    Brazil
    Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

  • Framework of the Western Train station in Budapest
    Budapest
    Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

    , Hungary
  • Great bridge over the Begej in Zrenjanin
    Zrenjanin
    Zrenjanin is a city and municipality located in the eastern part of Serbian province of Vojvodina. It is the administrative centre of the Central Banat District of Serbia...

    , Serbia
    Serbia
    Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

    , built in 1904, disassembled and replaced by concrete bridge in 1969
  • Mona Island Light
    Mona Island Light
    Mona Island Light, also known as Faro de la Isla de la Mona, is a historic lighthouse located on the island of Mona, Puerto Rico, in the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. It is the only lighthouse built of iron and steel in Puerto Rico...

    house at Mona Island, Puerto Rico
    Puerto Rico
    Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

  • Plaza del Mercado (local produce market) at Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
    Puerto Rico
    Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

  • Bridge in Trujillo Alto (still there but not used anymore), Puerto Rico
    Puerto Rico
    Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

  • Puente Quezon (Quezon Bridge) over Pasig River
    Pasig River
    The Pasig River is a river in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it is lined by Metro Manila on each side...

    , Manila
    Manila
    Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

    , Philippines
    Philippines
    The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

  • Ajfel Bridge On Skenderija Sarajevo
    Sarajevo
    Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....

    , Bosnia and Herzegovina
    Bosnia and Herzegovina
    Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

  • Dome (Salon Royale) of Hotel Negresco
    Hotel Negresco
    The Hotel Negresco on the Promenade des Anglais on the Baie des Anges in Nice, France was named for Henri Negresco who had the palatial hotel constructed in 1912...

    , Nice, France
  • Pabellon de la Rosa Piriapolis
    Piriápolis
    Piriápolis is a city in the Maldonado Department of Uruguay. It is located on the coast of Río de la Plata, on Route 10 and its intersection with Route 37. It is about east of the national capital, Montevideo . Piriápolis is an important summer resort in the country, predating the larger and more...

    , Uruguay
    Uruguay
    Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

  • Mercado Municipal, Manaus, Brazil
  • Aérodynamique EIFFEL (wind tunnel), Paris (Auteuil), France
  • La Cristalera, old portuary storage, El Puerto de Santa María
    El Puerto de Santa María
    El Puerto de Santa María is a municipality located on the banks of the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Spain. , the city has a population of c...

    , Spain
  • Clock Tower, Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic

Not Proved

  • (Bridge over the Cuyuni River
    Cuyuni River
    The Cuyuni River is a South American river and a tributary of the Essequibo River. It rises in the Guiana Highlands of Venezuela where it descends northward to El Dorado, and turns eastward to meander through the tropical rain forests of Guayana Esequiba...

    , southern Venezuela)
  • Santa Efigênia Viaduct, São Paulo, Brazil (1913)
  • Santa Justa Lift
    Santa Justa Lift
    The Santa Justa Lift , also called Carmo Lift , is a elevator/lift in civil parish of Santa Justa, in the historical city of Lisbon, situated at the end of Rua de Santa Justa...

     (Carmo Lift), in Lisbon
    Lisbon
    Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

    , Portugal (1901)
  • Dam on Great Bačka Canal, Bečej, Vojvodina, Serbia (1900)
  • Malleco Viaduct
    Malleco Viaduct
    The Malleco Viaduct is a railway bridge located in central Chile, passing over the Malleco River valley at the south entrance of Collipulli in the Araucania Region. It was opened by President José Manuel Balmaceda on October 26, 1890. At that time, it was the highest such bridge in the world...

    , Chile
    Chile
    Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

     (1890)
  • The Chateau de Villersexel
    Villersexel
    Villersexel is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Franche-Comté in eastern France.-City:The city, or commune of Villersexel is located within the Haute-Saône department, located within the Franche-Comté region of France. As noted, the current population is less than 2,000...

    , Located in Villersexel France, (circa 1871)
  • "Vuelta al Mundo", Córdoba, Argentina
    Argentina
    Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...


Unrealized projects

  • Trinity Bridge, Saint Petersburg
    Saint Petersburg
    Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

    —Eiffel entered a project into the contest, but his project was not realized.

Protection of Gustave Eiffel's heritage

A number of works of Gustave Eiffel are in danger today. Some have already been destroyed, like in Vietnam.
Discussions to destroy the railway bridge of Bordeaux (also known as the "passerelle St Jean"), first major work of Gustave Eiffel, resulted in a large mobilization from the public. Actions to protect the bridge were taken as early as 2002 by the "Association of the Descendants of Gustave Eiffel", joined from 2005 onwards by the Association "Sauvons la Passerelle Eiffel" (Save the Eiffel Bridge). They led, in 2010, to the decision to list Eiffel's Bordeaux bridge as a French Historical Monument.

Related

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK