Photo of the Week – August 22, 2014

This week’s photo, taken by Dennis Jarvis on a recent trip to Paris, gives us a close up view of the crisscrossing iron lattice structure and lifts of la Tour Eiffel. As Dennis explains, la Tour’s elevator system has been changed several times since it’s opening as the entrance arch to the 1889 World’s Fair. Constructing the original lifts from the first to second platform proved to be complicated because a straight track was not possible, and no French companies made proposals for the job. A bid by Otis Brothers & Company was initially rejected since the World Fair’s charter did not accept the use of any foreign material in the making of the Tower, but was later accepted. Otis designed a car that was divided into two superimposed sections that held 25 passengers each. The elevator operator was placed on an exterior platform at the bottom of the lift. Today’s elevators take about 9 minutes to make a round trip. Photo by Dennis Jarvis CC BY-SA 2.0], via Flickr