five constructions around the world

Stations, bridges, statues… On the occasion of the centenary of the death of Gustave Eiffel, on December 27, 1923, here are five buildings designed by the French engineer to whom we owe the Eiffel Tower, but not only…

Gustave Eiffel does not owe his reputation only to the Iron Lady. On the occasion of the centenary of his death, which occurred on December 27, 1923 at the age of 91, several museums are paying tribute to the man and his work. The City of Architecture and Heritage offers a trip back in time to “Gustave Eiffel’s Paris” until January 8. While the Musée d’Orsay presents the exhibition “Gustave Eiffel, builder of bridges” until February 4.

Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was born in Dijon in 1832 to a military father and a mother who was a coal trader. He studied engineering at the Central School of Arts and Manufactures until 1885. He specialized very early in working with steel, a booming material at the time. So much so that he designed a Parisian bridge at Saint-Germain for the Western Railway Company. Then, his work was recognized in Bordeaux. Then aged 26, he co-directed the construction of a 510-meter bridge to allow trains to travel over the Garonne.

Bridges, churches, lighthouses, domes… Gustave Eiffel’s achievements followed very quickly thanks to the technological prowess known to him: cantilever assembly, metal structures assembled by rivets or compressed air bridge piers. Today, the French engineer is behind 500 construction projects in around thirty countries, including Panama, Russia and Egypt. The family of Gustave Eiffel recently filed a request of pantheonization with the aim of highlighting the work of the engineer. Until then, a look back at five constructions around the world.

1/ The “Statue of Liberty”, At New York

It is one of the most visited monuments in the world. The Statue of Liberty, in 1885, was thought of by the jurist Édouard de Laboulaye as a gift from France to the United States, on the occasion of the centenary of the American Declaration of Independence. Located south of Manhattan, on Liberty Island, it owes its iron frame to the French engineer Gustave Eiffel. The statue, weighing 225 tons and 93 meters high, was unveiled to the public in 1886.

2/ The Maria Pia bridge, in Porto

The Maria Pia Bridge is the first railway viaduct to connect the two banks of the Douro, a 940 kilometer long river shared between Spain and Portugal. Extended 353 meters long and raised 61 meters above low water level, it was designed by Gustave Eiffel and his associate Théophile Seyrig. The Maria Pia Bridge, made up of a 160 meter long metal arch, opened in 1877 and closed in 1991. Its name pays homage to Maria Pia of Savoy, former queen consort of Portugal.

3/ Saigon Central Post Office

Today, Saigon Central Post Office is one of the main tourist sites in Vietnam. It was built between 1886 and 1891 during the French Indochina era. The large glass canopy as well as the metal frame were designed during this period by the French postal administration according to plans by Gustave Eiffel. A perfect assembly of glass and metal parts.

4/ Budapest-Nyugati Pályaudvar“West Station” in Hungary

This Budapest station, nicknamed the “West Station”, is one of three stations in the Hungarian capital. With a total area of ​​14,000 square meters, its large metal hall is the result of Gustave Eiffel’s engineering office. It is the first station to have an exposed metal facade. Since its opening in 1877, the station has been used for the production of numerous films including Munich by Steven Spielberg, with Daniel Craig and Mathieu Kassovitz. A square called “Eiffel” is now adjacent to the station, in homage to the French engineer.

5/ The Nice observatory

As global astronomy developed throughout the 19th century^e century, the three French observatories located in Paris, Toulouse and Marseille are visibly aging. From 1873, under the leadership of the banker Raphaël Bischoffsheim, the idea of ​​a fourth, more modern building in Nice was born. The architect Charles Garnier and the engineer Gustave Eiffel were then coveted to carry out this mobile dome project. Gustave Eiffel thus created an annular float allowing the dome to make a complete revolution in four minutes in preparation for the inauguration on October 27, 1887.