THE EIFFEL TOWER.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 370, 22 May 1889, Page 8

THE EIFFEL TOWER.

The Eiffel Tower, whose completion is announced, is by far the loftiest building on the face of the globe. It is no less than 300 metres, or about 980 feet, in height, and is constructed throughout of steel, forming a marvellaus construction of seeming lightness and strength . Its precise object does not seem to have been very clearly defined, There has been some vague talk about scientific purposes, but the plain fact appears to be that it is simply a speculative appendage to the Paris Exhibition. Its projector has been granted by the Exhibition authorities a first subvention of 1.500,000 francs with the right of '• exploiting " the Tower during the Exhibition. He will then be allowed by the City of Paris to continue to ''exploit" it for 20 years, after which it will become absolutely the property of the citj, to be used as may be thought fit. The magnitude of the undertaking may be gathered from the f ct that no other edifice on earth reaches to much more than half its altitude of 980 ft, The Washington Monument comes next, and that is only 555 ft high. The loftiest building in Europe, Rouen Cathedral, is under 500 ft. No structure in Great Britain reaches 500 ft, although the spire of old St. Paul's, London, destroyed in the Great Fire, is said to have attained a height of 526 ft. The tallest piles in Britain at present aie the two Glasgow chimneys owned respectively by Messrs Tennant and Messjs Townsend, each chimney being about 460 ft high, and bcth forming veiy conspicuous objects in a distant view* of the Scottish city. The loftiest spire in England is that of Salisbury Cathedral, which stands 404 ft in height. The Monument of London is only 202 ft, and the Victoria Tower 360 ft So the Eiffel Tower is at present unique in point of altitude, and it is expected to prove a special attraction to sight-seers visiting tne Paris Exhibition.