Eiffel as his Tower

Cartoon from June 1189 showing Gustave Eiffel as the Eiffel Tower.[1] This melding of man and tower illustrates how our buildings are extensions of ourselves.

Our buildings reflect our values and needs. This is especially true of our tall buildings, because they cost so much to build. When the Eiffel Tower was built in Paris, it reflected a worldwide drive for height in our buildings that was emerging at the time. It was a such a powerful statement of verticality that the man who designed it became something of a celebrity. He became synonymous with the tower in the eyes of the public, so much so that it was named after him like one of his children. This rarely happens with a building, but it demonstrates just how big an impact the Eiffel Tower had on the world.

The cartoon pictured above shows this melding of man and tower. The Eiffel Tower is the man, and the man is the embodiment of his tower. This occurred in large part because it was the tallest building in the world. Eiffel was part of a worldwide drive for height in architecture, and he created a major milestone for that process. It was such a major milestone that the man became inexorably linked to his tower.

Check out other posts about the Eiffel Tower here.


[1]: Sambourne, Edward Linley. “M. Eiffel: Our Artist’s latest Tour de Force” Punch 96 (29 June 1889): 324.