It sounds inconceivable today, but the Eiffel Tower, the most universal symbol of Paris, sparked widespread outrage when it was erected. It was said, for example, that it looked like a skeleton of a bell tower or a suppository with holes in it. But this was not the only controversy that its creator, Gustave Eiffel, faced. An even bigger scandal would end up destroying the career of the well-known engineer.
Eiffel designed his famous tower for the Universal Exhibition of 1889, a date that coincided with the centenary of the French Revolution. It was a time when new technologies in the industrialized world posed a challenge to the ideal of art for art’s sake. The idea that architecture should be based on noble materials, such as granite, marble, and bronze, was still very strong. Not something as vulgar as iron.
With great vision for the future, Gustave Eiffel took over the rights to operate the tower for twenty years. That included the price of tickets and benefits from restaurants, cafes, theaters or souvenir shops. And even more important: he obtained the image rights. This deal would make him very rich.
Eiffel came from a wealthy provincial family. After his studies, he specialized in metal railway bridges and viaducts and ended up founding his own company. The list of public works that he built is endless: countless bridges, hangars, train stations, lighthouses. Highlights include the Garabit Viaduct, which at the time was the longest arch bridge in the world, the beautiful West Station in Budapest, and the Nice Observatory. But perhaps Eiffel’s most emblematic work, apart from the tower, is the internal structure of the Statue of Liberty.
There is no doubt that this work gave Gustave Eiffel an important push towards international fame. His name hit newspapers around the world, but by then he already enjoyed an enormous reputation in engineering circles, for the rigor and precision of his work.
With the Eiffel Tower, Gustave reached the peak of his career. But his magnificent reputation collapsed dramatically due to the fiasco of the Panama Canal, intended to link the Atlantic and the Pacific. Lesseps, the project director, refused to listen to his recommendations. The result of such obstinacy was disastrous: the works progressed very slowly and there was a high mortality rate among the workers.
Finally, Lesseps accepted that the only viable option was the one proposed by Eiffel. But it was too late for a happy ending. After a lot of financial tricks, Lesseps and his son declared the company bankrupt. The fiasco wiped out the savings of some 800,000 small investors.
Eiffel signed an agreement to collect for part of the work performed and withdrew from Panama. But, on September 7, 1891, the judge ordered his house to be searched. A year later, he was taken to court, accused of fraud and breach of trust.
The trial uncovered a scheme of bribery against politicians, journalists and businessmen. Eiffel was unable to convincingly explain some irregularities. He was sentenced to two years in prison, a sentence that he did not serve because he won the appeal due to a formal defect. However, the new sentence was not acquittal. The judge did not enter into whether Eiffel was guilty or innocent.
To learn more about the character, Isabel Margarit, director of History and Life, and journalist Ana Echeverría Arístegui recommend reading the biography of David Harvie Eiffel The Genius Who Reinvented Himself (History Press, 2004), or the Spanish edition of the Bertrand Lemoine (Akal, 2002), with an epilogue on Eiffel in Spain. And on Movistar Plus there is the documentary The Challenge of the Eiffel Tower, with personal documents and 3D recreations of the construction process.
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