wiredinUSA June 2014

INDEX I

Riveting anniversary for tower

regularly inspected and replaced. Other vital iron fixings include anchorage for the ‘shoe’ of the tower ironwork. Each shoe was anchored into limestone blocks and held by a pair of bolts, 4 inches wide and 25 feet long. There are 3,629 detailed drawings showing the design’s complex angles and including thepositionof rivetholeswithin0.1mm(0.04''. Components riveted in sub-assemblies were delivered by horse-drawn carts. The components were initially bolted, and rivets replaced the bolts during construction. Sample rivets are sold in the Eiffel Tower gift shop.

The iconic iron lattice Eiffel Tower, constructed with 2.5 million rivets, is 125 years old this year. The 1,063ft structure is equivalent in height to an 81-story building and visited by seven million people annually. French engineer Gustave Eiffel designed and constructed the tower in 1889 for the 100 th anniversary of the French Revolution. Around 300 laborers installed the rivets, and 18,038pieces ofwrought iron, ina temporary structure expected to last only 20 years. Meticulous maintenance of its rivets are key to the tower’s longevity and rivets are

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wiredInUSA - June 2014

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