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I found this dramatic landscape, showing the Sassolungo massive, during a short backpacking trip in the Val Contrin. Spring 2005
The foundations of an old house.
Expired Polaroid film.
Camera: Mamiya Universal.
Lens: Mamiya Sekor P 75mm f/5.6
Film: Polaroid Polacolor Studio 125i Silk Expired 03/2009
Scanner: Epson Perfection V700
Black strapless bra, Black corset, tightly tied and black seamed stockings. Did take some rear views but decided they wern't good enough
The Development of Armidale. What is so special about Armidale? Well it is a cathedral city with both Anglican and Catholic cathedrals; it is a wealthy city with a prosperous hinterland and many mansions; it is Australia’s highest city with a bracing English style climate; it is an education city with a university and several prestigious boarding schools; it was one of a number of sites considered for the Australian capital city site after Federation; it has been one of the centres wanting to secede from the rest of NSW; and it has an interesting history with a squatting phase, mining phase, agricultural phase etc. It is also a regional capital and has always been considered the “capital” of the New England region - a distinctive Australian region defined by rainfall, altitude, etc. And it has always been on the main inland route between Sydney and Brisbane but that is no longer of importance in this aviation transport era.
The origins of Armidale district go back to Henry Dumaresq when he squatted on land here and took out leaseholds on Saumarez and Tilbuster stations in 1834. He and other squatters soon displaced the local aboriginal people after a period of considerable violence. The turning point in terms of the city came in 1839 when George Macdonald was appointed Commissioner for Crown Lands for the New England District. He arrived with a small police force and he set about building a house and office headquarters. The site he chose is now Macdonald Park. NSW land regulations allowed the government to set aside reserves for future towns or to resume leasehold land for the creation of towns. Macdonald immediately surveyed the local landowners of which there were 37 in New England, giving it a population of 422 people. But this was the convict era of NSW and half of the population were assigned convicts. They provided the brawn to develop the stations, build the shepherd’s huts, dig the wells and dams, and fell the timber and clear the land. Of the original 422 people in New England only 10 were females, probably wives of shepherds or convict women who were cooks etc. Most stations had between 8 and 12 assigned convicts. Saumarez for example, had 11 convicts and 8 free male workers in 1839. In 1841 convicts still accounted for 42% of the population of New England and as they completed their seven year terms, many stayed on to become the founders of towns like Armidale. Transportation of convicts to NSW ceased around 1843 and so convict assignees gradually declined in the region, but ex-convicts remained.
Macdonald named the town site Armidale after the Armadale estate on the Isle of Skye. Macdonald had barracks built for the police men, stables, a store shed, his own house and he enclosed some paddocks for the growing of wheat and vegetables. His first years were often taken up with writing reports about Aboriginal massacres and deaths including the Bluff Rock Massacre on the Everett brothers’ run at Ollera near Guyra. Macdonald seldom investigated reports of Aboriginal deaths closely. He was a pompous little man, just 4 feet 10 inches tall with a deformed hunched back. But he was meticulous in most matters. In 1841 he was jilted just before his proposed wedding to a local woman. He remained in Armidale until 1848 overseeing the early development of the town.
By 1843 a small town had emerged with a Post Office and a Court House, blacksmith, wheelwright, hotel, general store etc. The town provided government and commercial services to the surrounding pastoral estates. But the town reserve included other lands that were sold or leased to farmers- agriculturists who grew wheat. By 1851 Armidale had two flour mills. The long transport route to Newcastle and on to Sydney meant all wheat had to be converted to flour before it was transported to the markets. The old dray route down to the coast was also used for the transport of the region’s major product- wool. The official town was surveyed and the streets laid out in 1849. Many of the early pastoralists were commemorated in street names – Beardy, Dumaresq, Dangar, Marsh, Faulkner and Rusden to name a few.
In 1851 Armidale also had local industries for the regional population- two breweries, general stores, chemist, butcher etc. In the early 1850s the churches began to erect their first buildings and the town became “civilised” with more and more women living there. Then gold discoveries near Uralla and towards the eastern escarpment boosted the town’s population and services. A newspaper was founded, a hospital was built and the population reached 858 in 1856. A gaol was built on South Hill in 1863, the town became a municipality in 1864, and the Robertson’s Land Acts (1861) were introduced throughout NSW to break up the big pastoral estates for ‘selectors” or small scale farmers on 320 acre blocks. This boosted the total population of the Armidale region but as noted elsewhere the pastoralists also used this era to buy up large lots of land freehold for themselves by the process of “dummying”- using relatives and employees to buy small parcels of land which they sold on to the large land owners. But the early years of growing wheat around Armidale collapsed in the 1870s as the wheat lands of South Australia opened up and cheap SA imports destroyed the New England wheat industry. Other forms of agriculture were then taken up in New England.
Another key factor in the growth of Armidale in the late 1870s and into the 1890s was its English style climate. In 1885 Armidale was proclaimed a city. It had a population of 3,000 residents - a remarkable achievement for a locale so far from the coast. This was of course boosted further with the arrival of the railway in Armidale in 1883. The line soon reached the Queensland border with a connection on to Brisbane. But the railway was not all good news as the city of Armidale could then receive beer and other supplies on the railway from Newcastle or Sydney and some local industries closed down with the arrival of the railway. By the 1880s the boom years were apparent as large mansions and prominent commercial buildings were erected in the growing city.
The fact that Armidale is equidistant from Sydney and Brisbane was one of the factors considered in its application to become the new Federal capital. The fact that Armidale had nearby reservoirs and a large water supply big enough for a large capital city was also an important consideration. The new Federal government was considering the site of the capital city after a long drought so access to water supplies was a major concern. As we known the site of Canberra near Yass was finally selected despite its lesser supply of water but it was closer to Sydney.
Regional Art gallery and Aboriginal Art Centre.
This gallery is one of the regional galleries funded by the NSW government. It is especially noted for its outstanding collection of Australia Art which was donated to the gallery by Howard Hinton (1867-1948.) Hinton was a company director and art collector. Despite poor eyesight he travelled the world looking at galleries and he befriended several artists. In Sydney he met and lived with noted Australian painter such as Tom Roberts, Arthur Stretton and Julian Ashton. He made his first donation of art to the National Gallery of NSW in 1914. Over the years he gave 122 paintings to that gallery. He was a trustee of the National Gallery of NSW from 1919-1948. He was knighted in 1935 for his services to art. In 1928 when the National Gallery of NSW refused some of his donations he decided to endow the relatively new Teachers’ College at Armidale with a collection of art. The Director of Education who was in charge of the College concurred with the idea and the first paintings were received in Armidale in 1929. He later gave over 1,000 paintings to the Teachers’ College and over 700 art books for its library. His collection illustrated the development of Australian art in particular from the 1880s through to the 1940s. The artist Norman Lindsey described the collection as the only complete collection of Australian art. A portrait of Howard Hinton is held by the former Armidale College of Advanced Education which is now part of the University of New England. The art collection has been transferred on to the Armidale Regional Art Gallery. The Hinton Collection is partially on display always. The Persian Love Cake in the Art Gallery café is to die for!
Teachers College and the Education Museum.
In the 19th century most school teachers were untrained but a few were trained in Fort Street Normal School in Sydney from 1848. The first teachers college was not established until 1912 in some temporary buildings. The college opened in new premises in 1920 which were not completed until 1924. But Armidale got the second teachers college in NSW in 1928 with its first proper building being constructed in 1930 at the height of the Great Depression. Why was this so? The answer is political. New England was in the midst of a secession movement in the late 1920s and New England was the home to several Country Party politicians with great influence. The Country Party came to power in NSW in 1927 and the new Minister for Education, David Drummond was the local member for New England. Drummond favoured a second teachers college because the staff at Sydney Teachers College had complained that country students coming to Sydney to be trained were being seduced by the ways of the sinful city and they seldom wanted rural school postings after a stint in Sydney! A Teachers College in Armidale would stop the debauchery! Although Armidale Teachers’ College was the first, the government made plans for additional teachers colleges in Bathurst and Wagga Wagga which eventually were established. The 1863 gaol in Armidale was closed in 1920 and was demolished to make way for the new teachers college building. As one commentator said at the time “a new Parthenon on the hill was to replace the penitentiary on the hill”!
The government appointed Cecil Bede Newling (1883-1975) as the principal of the new college. Today the old Teachers College building is named the Newling building. Newling had gone out as a probationary teacher in 1899 before attending courses at Fort Street Normal School from 1904. He later described his teacher training as dull. He was first appointed head teacher at Cootamundra in 1923, and then inspector at Broken Hill in 1925. He had a rapid rise in the Education Department. By 1925 he had also been awarded a BA and a MA from the University of Sydney. As first principal of the Armidale Teachers College he influenced everything. He had a forceful personality and took interest in all aspects of the College from the grounds and gardens to the curriculum and to the health of the students. During World War Two he became secret custodian of priceless art and written materials from the Mitchell Library and the National Gallery of NSW. He retired in 1947 with his “college on the hill” well established and valued. It is open weekday afternoons from 2 to 4 pm to members of the public.
Central Park Historical Walk and Nearby Structures.
The buildings of significance around Central Park are the old Wesley Methodist Hall and the now Uniting Church- just off the Park in Rusden Street; St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church and Hall; St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral, Deanery and Parish Hall; and St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral. Nearby along Faulkner Street is the Town Hall( just off Faulkner), the Post Office, the Court House, and the entrance to the Mall.
•Masonic Building. The Lodge here in Armidale purchased this land in 1860 and had a lodge built by a local builder Frederick Nott. A new severe classical style Lodge was erected in 1924 to replace the earlier one.
•Lindsay House is at 128 Faulkner Street and it dates from the mid 1920s. It is a mock Tudor house with exposed beams and woodwork on the exterior and stucco areas. This “English” style of house was popular in New England at this time. It is a typical “gentleman’s “house and it was built for a local doctor. In 1972 the former Armidale College of Advanced Education purchased the house for staff accommodation and they renamed it Lindsay House. Today it is a luxury bed & breakfast establishment.
•Southall is a fine 1888 residence at 88 Barney Street oppopsite Central Park. At one stage it was called Girrawheen Boarding House as it provided accommodation for the girls enrolled at New England Ladies College. This house was purchased in 1928 by the Armidale Teachers’ College for accommodation for female teaching students. It was linked to Smith House, next door, in 1960 and then became a university residential college but it is now a backpackers complex. Apart from wrought iron lace work it features two toned brick work on the quoins and the bricks are done in Flemish bond pattern.
•Catholic Cathedral and Convent. See next page.
•Anglican Cathedral and Deanery. See next page.
•St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church. The foundation stone dates the building to 1881. Its Gothic style, tall steeple, wrought iron decorations and lancet windows add considerably to the appearance of Central Park. The white painted masonry quoins, window surrounds etc contrast sharply with the dark coloured bricks.
•Old Wesley Methodist Hall and Church. The Old Wesley Church was erected in 1864 and is one of the oldest still standing churches of Armidale. It was replaced by a new Methodist Church in 1893 and it then became the church hall. The Old Wesley Church also has Red Cedar joinery inside.
•The Folk Museum. This is housed in the old School of Arts and Mechanics Institute building of 1863. Such places were crucial education centres in the 19th century. It was used as the town library for many years and is now a museum.
•Armidale Town Hall. This impressive structure was completed in 1883 just before Armidale became a city in 1885. It has many decorative features including pilasters (flat columns), scroll work, a central triangular pediment above the main entrance, a niche like entrance with a curved upper balcony and balustrade. In 1990 the City decorated the interior in Art Deco style!
•The Armidale Post Office. The first PO was established in 1843. This building was constructed in 1880. The beautiful arched veranda and upper balcony were added in 1897. It is still the city Post Office.
•Lands Board building now the Lands Office. This elegant building with its filigree lace work on the upper balcony and the lower veranda originally had a slate roof and slate chimney pots. The symmetry of this building is superb. It was designed by the same architect who did the government Post Office next door and the style would date it to the same period -1880.
•Opposite are the architectural plans for the amazing Imperial Hotel. It was built in 1890 William Miller who was of the original discoverer of gold at Hillgrove. He made his fortune on the gold fields and then erected the finest hotel in Armidale. It is noted for its proportions, classical style, ornate parapets along the roof line and filigree caste iron. The urns atop the “floating” triangular pediments are wonderful. It demonstrates how important the travelling public were to early hoteliers like William Miller. Miller began life as a poor farmer at Saumarez Ponds. It is run down today.
•On the opposite corner is the current Westpac Bank. It was formerly the Bank of NSW and it was put up in 1938 in classical style. The 1817 on the parapet refers to the founding of the Bank of NSW by Mary Reibey, a former convict, depicted on our $20 note. Along from this is the marvellous AMP building with its statute on top.
•Armidale Court House in the Mall. This imposing building with a classical Greek façade with columns, and wrought iron gates was built in 1859. It was extensively altered in 1870 when the two side wings were attached. The clock tower was added in 1878. Inside the joinery is all Australian Red Cedar. Note the cobblestoned courtyard. At the rear of the Court House is the original Sheriff’s Cottage (1870) which was originally a “lock up “for prisoners!
•Hanna’s Arcade in Barney Street. See the leadlight mural, wooden arcade, and fine department store.
Catholic Cathedral and building.
The first Catholic priest to arrive in Armidale came in 1853. He took services in a small wooden Catholic Church that had opened in 1848. The priest then built a parsonage which became part of De La Salle College, now O’Connor High School. It has since been demolished. In 1862 the Catholic Diocese of Armidale was established but it was 1869 before the first bishop, Bishop O’Mahony, settled in Armidale. He was consecrated as bishop in 1871 at the same time as the commissioning of the cathedral. It was dedicated in 1872 but replaced by the current cathedral in 1912. When Bishop O’Mahony left he was replaced by Bishop Torreggiani who was replaced by Bishop O’Connor in 1904.
The new cathedral of St. Mary and St. Joseph was built in Pyrmont stone from Sydney and Armidale polychrome (or multi- coloured) bricks. Such brick work was popular in the 1880s but out of fashion by 1912. Brown, cream and red bricks were used for the cathedral to highlight its architectural features. It is a much larger structure than the Anglican cathedral and dominates the townscape around Central Park. The brickwork was used for quoins, cross banding and other feature work. It was designed in Gothic style by Sherrin and Hennessy in Sydney and constructed by a local builder Frederick Nott. It has a turreted tower with a needle spire on top with louvre windows. It has the original slate roof and fine marble work inside and outside in the form of fine marble statues. The interior is also noted for its fine hammer beam ceiling. The pipe organ was made in 1900 in England and rebuilt here in 1912. Like the Anglicans, the Catholics divided the New England diocese in 1887 when the Diocese of Grafton was established.
Near the cathedral but further along Barney Street is the Merici House which was built as a Catholic School and convent very early in 1882. Angela Merici was the founder of the Ursuline Order of Nuns who began teaching at that school in 1883. The Ursulines arrived from London in 1882 to do missionary work in Armidale. Their order was established in Italy in 1534. The Ursulines in Armidale established their mother house here and sent nuns out to many other communities across NSW and Qld from Armidale. But in Armidale they set up St. Ursulines College from their small origins in Merici House near the Catholic Cathedral. It was erected as a fine two storey house for a local businessman in 1877. He sold it to the Ursuline Order in 1882. St. Ursuline College operated from 1882 until it merged with the Catholic boys’ school, La Salle College (established 1906 by Bishop O’Connor) in 1975. The amalgamated school was renamed O’Connor High School after Bishop O’Connor. O’Connor High School operates on a different site in the city of Armidale to the north east of the town.
Anglican Cathedral and associated buildings.
Bishop Broughton conducted the first Anglican service in Armidale in 1845 with the first church opening in 1850, followed by a parsonage for Rev. Tingcombe who was the first minister arriving in 1846. Armidale was part of the Diocese of Newcastle. Then in 1869 the diocese of Grafton and Armidale was established. The founding Bishop was James Turner from Norfolk, England. His diocese was the size of England! He started with 10 clergy and 21 churches. He appointed John Horbury Hunt to design and oversee the building of a suitable cathedral in Armidale. The foundation stone was laid in 1873 and the cathedral opened in 1875 as St. Peter’s. Hunt designed a relatively small cathedral of brick, his favourite building medium, rather than stone. Turner continued as Bishop until 1893. Before he left the diocese of Armidale he had the Christ Church Cathedral erected in Grafton in 1884 and a new Grafton diocese created. Bishop Turner also used John Horbury Hunt for cathedral that we saw in Grafton. By the time Turner left he had 2 diocese and 58 churches.
The Anglican Cathedral was made of Armidale blue bricks with clay taken from Saumarez station. The vestry was added in 1910 according to Hunt’s design (he died in 1903) and the tower, again according to Hunt’s design in 1936. The cathedral features Gothic arches, a square tower, small pyramids on top of buttresses, moulded bricks for special areas and interesting English bonds and patterns. Uralla granite was used for keystones and the foundations. The Deanery was also designed by Hunt and built of the same Armidale blue bricks in 1891. Hunt was known to make great demands on the brickies as he was a perfectionist and supervised all the intricate brickwork very closely. The result was an outstandingly fine cathedral. Note the band of green tiles above the main door included by Hunt. Note also the fine stained glass windows, and one is a memorial to Bishop Turner’s wife who died in 1879. The cathedral has a fine timber ceiling. Hunt even selected the pulpit and lectern to suit his design. The pulpit has an effigy of St. Peter carved in the sandstone. Some of Hunt’s original plans can be viewed in the Tower Room.
Worthing Pier foundations exposed after the recent storms. To be honest I never though it looked like that underneath.
45EPIC Zion National Park Fine Art Landscapes: Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Landscape and Nature Photography! Zion Autmn Colors and Fall Foliage!
Zion National Park Fine Art Landscapes: Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Landscape and Nature Photography!
Hiking the Zion Narrows and the Zion Subway! Shooting Paradise Cove and Archangel Falls! The Zion National Park autumn is most beautiful!
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Greetings flickr fans! Many more uploads soon! I have been busy writing, traveling, and shooting! I finished my books on the Tao of Epic Landscape Photography and the Golden Number Ratio Principle! I oft incorporate the golden ratio in my landscape compositions, and you'll also see it in the design and proportion of the 45surf clothes and surfboard and gun logos (More golden ratio information at my facebook page facebook.com/goldennumberratio). Message me on facebook for free review copies of my books here: facebook.com/mcgucken ! :)
I'm working on a book on photographing epic goddesses too! What should I title it? :)
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Full titles: The Tao of Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art with the Yin-Yang Wisdom of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching.
And: The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Why the Fibonacci Numbers Exalt Beauty and How to Create PHI Compositions in Art, Design, & Photography: An Artistic and Scientific Introduction to the Golden Mean !
I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them! :)
Enjoy the epic landscape and goddess and photography and note the golden ratio overlays in some of the photos, as well as the golden ratio in the Birth of Venus painting by Botticelli!
I've been on the road shooting landscapes in Zion, Yosemite, the Eastern Sierras, Big Sur, and more!
Many of you have seen my physics formula dx4/dt=ic for Light Time Dimension Theory on a lot of the 45surf clothing and in the fine art landscape logos. I finally finished the first book of many on the foundations of photography's best friend--light:
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics.
All the best on your epic hero's odyssey!
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Was so fortunate to be able to photograph the epic Zion glow this year in the Narows and Zion National Park!
Urbex Benelux -
The foundations of the bunker are 2 meters deep and the walls have a thickness of 1.30 meters. They can therefore withstand individual impacts from grenades up to 220 mm. The outside was covered with cement studs, also called 'eggs' or 'Tiroler nipples'. The pattern forms a kind of canopy that served as camouflage. The top of the structure is smooth but 16 hooks were provided to attach camouflage nets. There were 4 special tubes that were provided for the air exchange but also ensured that thrown grenades rolled out again. At the top there is also an opening for a periscope, through this device the bunker could be connected to the other bunkers in the area thanks to a field telephone.
Lamb Holm, Orkney Islands, Scotland.
"The Italian Chapel is a highly ornate Catholic chapel on Lamb Holm in the Orkney Islands. It was built during World War II by Italian prisoners of war, who were housed on the previously uninhabited island while they constructed the Churchill Barriers to the east of Scapa Flow. Only the concrete foundations of the other buildings of the prisoner-of-war camp survive. The chapel was not completed until after the end of the war, and was restored in the 1960s and again in the 1990s.
550 Italian prisoners of war, captured in North Africa during World War II, were brought to Orkney in 1942. They worked on the construction of the Churchill Barriers, four causeways created to block access to Scapa Flow. 200 were based at Camp 60 on Lamb Holm. In 1943, Major Thomas Pyres Buckland, Camp 60's new commandant, and Father Gioacchino Giacobazzi, the camp's Catholic priest, agreed that a place of worship was required.
The chapel was constructed from limited materials by the prisoners. Two Nissen (quonset) huts were joined end-to-end. The corrugated interior was then covered with plasterboard and the altar and altar rail were constructed from concrete left over from work on the barriers. Most of the interior decoration was done by Domenico Chiocchetti, a prisoner from Moena. He painted the sanctuary end of the chapel and fellow-prisoners decorated the entire interior. They created a facade out of concrete, concealing the shape of the hut and making the building look like a church. The light holders were made out of corned beef tins. The baptismal font was made from the inside of a car exhaust covered in a layer of concrete.
When his fellow prisoners were released shortly before the end of the war, Chiocchetti remained on the island to finish decorating the newly consecrated chapel
SP 8565 (SD40T-2), and 2 other SD40T-2's have been sliced in this uphill train towards the top of Cajon Pass. Photo by Stuart Spencer, Edited Kodachrome Slide, Processed April 1980
The Eiffel Tower is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "La dame de fer" (French for "Iron Lady"), it was constructed from 1887 to 1889 as the centerpiece of the 1889 World's Fair and was initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world. The Eiffel Tower is the most visited monument with an entrance fee in the world; 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015. It was designated a monument historique in 1964, and was named part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site ("Paris, Banks of the Seine") in 1991.
The tower is 330 metres (1,083 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building, and the tallest structure in Paris. Its base is square, measuring 125 metres (410 ft) on each side. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930. It was the first structure in the world to surpass both the 200-metre and 300-metre mark in height. Due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres (17 ft). Excluding transmitters, the Eiffel Tower is the second tallest free-standing structure in France after the Millau Viaduct.
The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level's upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the climb from the first level to the second, making the entire ascent a 600 step climb. Although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually accessible only by lift.
The design of the Eiffel Tower is attributed to Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, two senior engineers working for the Compagnie des Établissements Eiffel. It was envisioned after discussion about a suitable centerpiece for the proposed 1889 Exposition Universelle, a world's fair to celebrate the centennial of the French Revolution. Eiffel openly acknowledged that inspiration for a tower came from the Latting Observatory built in New York City in 1853. In May 1884, working at home, Koechlin made a sketch of their idea, described by him as "a great pylon, consisting of four lattice girders standing apart at the base and coming together at the top, joined together by metal trusses at regular intervals". Eiffel initially showed little enthusiasm, but he did approve further study, and the two engineers then asked Stephen Sauvestre, the head of the company's architectural department, to contribute to the design. Sauvestre added decorative arches to the base of the tower, a glass pavilion to the first level, and other embellishments.
The new version gained Eiffel's support: he bought the rights to the patent on the design which Koechlin, Nougier, and Sauvestre had taken out, and the design was put on display at the Exhibition of Decorative Arts in the autumn of 1884 under the company name. On 30 March 1885, Eiffel presented his plans to the Société des Ingénieurs Civils; after discussing the technical problems and emphasising the practical uses of the tower, he finished his talk by saying the tower would symbolise
[n]ot only the art of the modern engineer, but also the century of Industry and Science in which we are living, and for which the way was prepared by the great scientific movement of the eighteenth century and by the Revolution of 1789, to which this monument will be built as an expression of France's gratitude.
Little progress was made until 1886, when Jules Grévy was re-elected as president of France and Édouard Lockroy was appointed as minister for trade. A budget for the exposition was passed and, on 1 May, Lockroy announced an alteration to the terms of the open competition being held for a centrepiece to the exposition, which effectively made the selection of Eiffel's design a foregone conclusion, as entries had to include a study for a 300 m (980 ft) four-sided metal tower on the Champ de Mars. (A 300-metre tower was then considered a herculean engineering effort). On 12 May, a commission was set up to examine Eiffel's scheme and its rivals, which, a month later, decided that all the proposals except Eiffel's were either impractical or lacking in details.
After some debate about the exact location of the tower, a contract was signed on 8 January 1887. Eiffel signed it acting in his own capacity rather than as the representative of his company, the contract granting him 1.5 million francs toward the construction costs: less than a quarter of the estimated 6.5 million francs. Eiffel was to receive all income from the commercial exploitation of the tower during the exhibition and for the next 20 years. He later established a separate company to manage the tower, putting up half the necessary capital himself.
The Crédit Industriel et Commercial (C.I.C.) helped finance the construction of the Eiffel Tower. According to a New York Times investigation into France's colonial legacy in Haiti, at the time of the tower's construction, the bank was acquiring funds from predatory loans related to the Haiti indemnity controversy – a debt forced upon Haiti by France to pay for slaves lost following the Haitian Revolution – and transferring Haiti's wealth into France. The Times reported that the C.I.C. benefited from a loan that required the Haitian Government to pay the bank and its partner nearly half of all taxes the Haitian government collected on exports, writing that by "effectively choking off the nation’s primary source of income", the C.I.C. "left a crippling legacy of financial extraction and dashed hopes — even by the standards of a nation with a long history of both."
Work on the foundations started on 28 January 1887. Those for the east and south legs were straightforward, with each leg resting on four 2 m (6.6 ft) concrete slabs, one for each of the principal girders of each leg. The west and north legs, being closer to the river Seine, were more complicated: each slab needed two piles installed by using compressed-air caissons 15 m (49 ft) long and 6 m (20 ft) in diameter driven to a depth of 22 m (72 ft) to support the concrete slabs, which were 6 m (20 ft) thick. Each of these slabs supported a block of limestone with an inclined top to bear a supporting shoe for the ironwork.
Each shoe was anchored to the stonework by a pair of bolts 10 cm (4 in) in diameter and 7.5 m (25 ft) long. The foundations were completed on 30 June, and the erection of the ironwork began. The visible work on-site was complemented by the enormous amount of exacting preparatory work that took place behind the scenes: the drawing office produced 1,700 general drawings and 3,629 detailed drawings of the 18,038 different parts needed. The task of drawing the components was complicated by the complex angles involved in the design and the degree of precision required: the position of rivet holes was specified to within 1 mm (0.04 in) and angles worked out to one second of arc. The finished components, some already riveted together into sub-assemblies, arrived on horse-drawn carts from a factory in the nearby Parisian suburb of Levallois-Perret and were first bolted together, with the bolts being replaced with rivets as construction progressed. No drilling or shaping was done on site: if any part did not fit, it was sent back to the factory for alteration. In all, 18,038 pieces were joined together using 2.5 million rivets.
At first, the legs were constructed as cantilevers, but about halfway to the first level construction was paused to create a substantial timber scaffold. This renewed concerns about the structural integrity of the tower, and sensational headlines such as "Eiffel Suicide!" and "Gustave Eiffel Has Gone Mad: He Has Been Confined in an Asylum" appeared in the tabloid press. At this stage, a small "creeper" crane designed to move up the tower was installed in each leg. They made use of the guides for the lifts which were to be fitted in the four legs. The critical stage of joining the legs at the first level was completed by the end of March 1888. Although the metalwork had been prepared with the utmost attention to detail, provision had been made to carry out small adjustments to precisely align the legs; hydraulic jacks were fitted to the shoes at the base of each leg, capable of exerting a force of 800 tonnes, and the legs were intentionally constructed at a slightly steeper angle than necessary, being supported by sandboxes on the scaffold. Although construction involved 300 on-site employees, due to Eiffel's safety precautions and the use of movable gangways, guardrails and screens, only one person died.
The main structural work was completed at the end of March 1889 and, on 31 March, Eiffel celebrated by leading a group of government officials, accompanied by representatives of the press, to the top of the tower. Because the lifts were not yet in operation, the ascent was made by foot, and took over an hour, with Eiffel stopping frequently to explain various features. Most of the party chose to stop at the lower levels, but a few, including the structural engineer, Émile Nouguier, the head of construction, Jean Compagnon, the President of the City Council, and reporters from Le Figaro and Le Monde Illustré, completed the ascent. At 2:35 pm, Eiffel hoisted a large Tricolour to the accompaniment of a 25-gun salute fired at the first level.
There was still work to be done, particularly on the lifts and facilities, and the tower was not opened to the public until nine days after the opening of the exposition on 6 May; even then, the lifts had not been completed. The tower was an instant success with the public, and nearly 30,000 visitors made the 1,710-step climb to the top before the lifts entered service on 26 May. Tickets cost 2 francs for the first level, 3 for the second, and 5 for the top, with half-price admission on Sundays, and by the end of the exhibition there had been 1,896,987 visitors.
After dark, the tower was lit by hundreds of gas lamps, and a beacon sent out three beams of red, white and blue light. Two searchlights mounted on a circular rail were used to illuminate various buildings of the exposition. The daily opening and closing of the exposition were announced by a cannon at the top.
On the second level, the French newspaper Le Figaro had an office and a printing press, where a special souvenir edition, Le Figaro de la Tour, was made. There was also a pâtisserie.
At the top, there was a post office where visitors could send letters and postcards as a memento of their visit. Graffitists were also catered for: sheets of paper were mounted on the walls each day for visitors to record their impressions of the tower. Gustave Eiffel described some of the responses as vraiment curieuse ("truly curious").
Famous visitors to the tower included the Prince of Wales, Sarah Bernhardt, "Buffalo Bill" Cody (his Wild West show was an attraction at the exposition) and Thomas Edison. Eiffel invited Edison to his private apartment at the top of the tower, where Edison presented him with one of his phonographs, a new invention and one of the many highlights of the exposition. Edison signed the guestbook with this message:
To M Eiffel the Engineer the brave builder of so gigantic and original specimen of modern Engineering from one who has the greatest respect and admiration for all Engineers including the Great Engineer the Bon Dieu, Thomas Edison.
Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years. It was to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it should be easy to dismantle) but as the tower proved to be valuable for radio telegraphy, it was allowed to remain after the expiry of the permit, and from 1910 it also became part of the International Time Service.
Eiffel made use of his apartment at the top of the tower to carry out meteorological observations, and also used the tower to perform experiments on the action of air resistance on falling bodies.
Subsequent events
Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years. It was to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The city had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it should be easy to dismantle) but as the tower proved to be valuable for many innovations in the early 20th century, particularly radio telegraphy, it was allowed to remain after the expiry of the permit, and from 1910 it also became part of the International Time Service.
For the 1900 Exposition Universelle, the lifts in the east and west legs were replaced by lifts running as far as the second level constructed by the French firm Fives-Lille. These had a compensating mechanism to keep the floor level as the angle of ascent changed at the first level, and were driven by a similar hydraulic mechanism as the Otis lifts, although this was situated at the base of the tower. Hydraulic pressure was provided by pressurised accumulators located near this mechanism. At the same time the lift in the north pillar was removed and replaced by a staircase to the first level. The layout of both first and second levels was modified, with the space available for visitors on the second level. The original lift in the south pillar was removed 13 years later.
On 19 October 1901, Alberto Santos-Dumont, flying his No.6 airship, won a 100,000-franc prize offered by Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe for the first person to make a flight from St. Cloud to the Eiffel Tower and back in less than half an hour.
In 1910, Father Theodor Wulf measured radiant energy at the top and bottom of the tower. He found more at the top than expected, incidentally discovering what are known today as cosmic rays. Two years later, on 4 February 1912, Austrian tailor Franz Reichelt died after jumping from the first level of the tower (a height of 57 m) to demonstrate his parachute design. In 1914, at the outbreak of World War I, a radio transmitter located in the tower jammed German radio communications, seriously hindering their advance on Paris and contributing to the Allied victory at the First Battle of the Marne. From 1925 to 1934, illuminated signs for Citroën adorned three of the tower's sides, making it the tallest advertising space in the world at the time. In April 1935, the tower was used to make experimental low-resolution television transmissions, using a shortwave transmitter of 200 watts power. On 17 November, an improved 180-line transmitter was installed.
On two separate but related occasions in 1925, the con artist Victor Lustig "sold" the tower for scrap metal. A year later, in February 1926, pilot Leon Collet was killed trying to fly under the tower. His aircraft became entangled in an aerial belonging to a wireless station. A bust of Gustave Eiffel by Antoine Bourdelle was unveiled at the base of the north leg on 2 May 1929. In 1930, the tower lost the title of the world's tallest structure when the Chrysler Building in New York City was completed. In 1938, the decorative arcade around the first level was removed.
Upon the German occupation of Paris in 1940, the lift cables were cut by the French. The tower was closed to the public during the occupation and the lifts were not repaired until 1946. In 1940, German soldiers had to climb the tower to hoist a swastika-centered Reichskriegsflagge, but the flag was so large it blew away just a few hours later, and was replaced by a smaller one. When visiting Paris, Hitler chose to stay on the ground. When the Allies were nearing Paris in August 1944, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower along with the rest of the city. Von Choltitz disobeyed the order. On 25 August, before the Germans had been driven out of Paris, the German flag was replaced with a Tricolour by two men from the French Naval Museum, who narrowly beat three men led by Lucien Sarniguet, who had lowered the Tricolour on 13 June 1940 when Paris fell to the Germans.
A fire started in the television transmitter on 3 January 1956, damaging the top of the tower. Repairs took a year, and in 1957, the present radio aerial was added to the top. In 1964, the Eiffel Tower was officially declared to be a historical monument by the Minister of Cultural Affairs, André Malraux. A year later, an additional lift system was installed in the north pillar.
According to interviews, in 1967, Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau negotiated a secret agreement with Charles de Gaulle for the tower to be dismantled and temporarily relocated to Montreal to serve as a landmark and tourist attraction during Expo 67. The plan was allegedly vetoed by the company operating the tower out of fear that the French government could refuse permission for the tower to be restored in its original location.
In 1982, the original lifts between the second and third levels were replaced after 97 years in service. These had been closed to the public between November and March because the water in the hydraulic drive tended to freeze. The new cars operate in pairs, with one counterbalancing the other, and perform the journey in one stage, reducing the journey time from eight minutes to less than two minutes. At the same time, two new emergency staircases were installed, replacing the original spiral staircases. In 1983, the south pillar was fitted with an electrically driven Otis lift to serve the Jules Verne restaurant.[citation needed] The Fives-Lille lifts in the east and west legs, fitted in 1899, were extensively refurbished in 1986. The cars were replaced, and a computer system was installed to completely automate the lifts. The motive power was moved from the water hydraulic system to a new electrically driven oil-filled hydraulic system, and the original water hydraulics were retained solely as a counterbalance system. A service lift was added to the south pillar for moving small loads and maintenance personnel three years later.
Robert Moriarty flew a Beechcraft Bonanza under the tower on 31 March 1984. In 1987, A. J. Hackett made one of his first bungee jumps from the top of the Eiffel Tower, using a special cord he had helped develop. Hackett was arrested by the police. On 27 October 1991, Thierry Devaux, along with mountain guide Hervé Calvayrac, performed a series of acrobatic figures while bungee jumping from the second floor of the tower. Facing the Champ de Mars, Devaux used an electric winch between figures to go back up to the second floor. When firemen arrived, he stopped after the sixth jump.
For its "Countdown to the Year 2000" celebration on 31 December 1999, flashing lights and high-powered searchlights were installed on the tower. During the last three minutes of the year, the lights were turned on starting from the base of the tower and continuing to the top to welcome 2000 with a huge fireworks show. An exhibition above a cafeteria on the first floor commemorates this event. The searchlights on top of the tower made it a beacon in Paris's night sky, and 20,000 flashing bulbs gave the tower a sparkly appearance for five minutes every hour on the hour.
The lights sparkled blue for several nights to herald the new millennium on 31 December 2000. The sparkly lighting continued for 18 months until July 2001. The sparkling lights were turned on again on 21 June 2003, and the display was planned to last for 10 years before they needed replacing.
The tower received its 200,000,000th guest on 28 November 2002.The tower has operated at its maximum capacity of about 7 million visitors per year since 2003. In 2004, the Eiffel Tower began hosting a seasonal ice rink on the first level. A glass floor was installed on the first level during the 2014 refurbishment.
Design
The puddle iron (wrought iron) of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes, and the addition of lifts, shops and antennae have brought the total weight to approximately 10,100 tonnes. As a demonstration of the economy of design, if the 7,300 tonnes of metal in the structure were melted down, it would fill the square base, 125 metres (410 ft) on each side, to a depth of only 6.25 cm (2.46 in) assuming the density of the metal to be 7.8 tonnes per cubic metre. Additionally, a cubic box surrounding the tower (324 m × 125 m × 125 m) would contain 6,200 tonnes of air, weighing almost as much as the iron itself. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7 in) due to thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun.
Wind and weather considerations
When it was built, many were shocked by the tower's daring form. Eiffel was accused of trying to create something artistic with no regard to the principles of engineering. However, Eiffel and his team – experienced bridge builders – understood the importance of wind forces, and knew that if they were going to build the tallest structure in the world, they had to be sure it could withstand them. In an interview with the newspaper Le Temps published on 14 February 1887, Eiffel said:
Is it not true that the very conditions which give strength also conform to the hidden rules of harmony? ... Now to what phenomenon did I have to give primary concern in designing the Tower? It was wind resistance. Well then! I hold that the curvature of the monument's four outer edges, which is as mathematical calculation dictated it should be ... will give a great impression of strength and beauty, for it will reveal to the eyes of the observer the boldness of the design as a whole.
He used graphical methods to determine the strength of the tower and empirical evidence to account for the effects of wind, rather than a mathematical formula. Close examination of the tower reveals a basically exponential shape.[69] All parts of the tower were overdesigned to ensure maximum resistance to wind forces. The top half was even assumed to have no gaps in the latticework. In the years since it was completed, engineers have put forward various mathematical hypotheses in an attempt to explain the success of the design. The most recent, devised in 2004 after letters sent by Eiffel to the French Society of Civil Engineers in 1885 were translated into English, is described as a non-linear integral equation based on counteracting the wind pressure on any point of the tower with the tension between the construction elements at that point.
The Eiffel Tower sways by up to 9 cm (3.5 in) in the wind.
Ground floor
The four columns of the tower each house access stairs and elevators to the first two floors, while at the south column only the elevator to the second floor restaurant is publicly accessible.
1st floor
The first floor is publicly accessible by elevator or stairs. When originally built, the first level contained three restaurants – one French, one Russian and one Flemish — and an "Anglo-American Bar". After the exposition closed, the Flemish restaurant was converted to a 250-seat theatre. Today there is the Le 58 Tour Eiffel restaurant and other facilities.
2nd floor
The second floor is publicly accessible by elevator or stairs and has a restaurant called Le Jules Verne, a gourmet restaurant with its own lift going up from the south column to the second level. This restaurant has one star in the Michelin Red Guide. It was run by the multi-Michelin star chef Alain Ducasse from 2007 to 2017. As of May 2019, it is managed by three-star chef Frédéric Anton. It owes its name to the famous science-fiction writer Jules Verne.
3rd floor
Originally there were laboratories for various experiments, and a small apartment reserved for Gustave Eiffel to entertain guests, which is now open to the public, complete with period decorations and lifelike mannequins of Eiffel and some of his notable guests.
From 1937 until 1981, there was a restaurant near the top of the tower. It was removed due to structural considerations; engineers had determined it was too heavy and was causing the tower to sag. This restaurant was sold to an American restaurateur and transported to New York and then New Orleans. It was rebuilt on the edge of New Orleans' Garden District as a restaurant and later event hall. Today there is a champagne bar.
Lifts
The arrangement of the lifts has been changed several times during the tower's history. Given the elasticity of the cables and the time taken to align the cars with the landings, each lift, in normal service, takes an average of 8 minutes and 50 seconds to do the round trip, spending an average of 1 minute and 15 seconds at each level. The average journey time between levels is 1 minute. The original hydraulic mechanism is on public display in a small museum at the base of the east and west legs. Because the mechanism requires frequent lubrication and maintenance, public access is often restricted. The rope mechanism of the north tower can be seen as visitors exit the lift.
Equipping the tower with adequate and safe passenger lifts was a major concern of the government commission overseeing the Exposition. Although some visitors could be expected to climb to the first level, or even the second, lifts clearly had to be the main means of ascent.
Constructing lifts to reach the first level was relatively straightforward: the legs were wide enough at the bottom and so nearly straight that they could contain a straight track, and a contract was given to the French company Roux, Combaluzier & Lepape for two lifts to be fitted in the east and west legs. Roux, Combaluzier & Lepape used a pair of endless chains with rigid, articulated links to which the car was attached. Lead weights on some links of the upper or return sections of the chains counterbalanced most of the car's weight. The car was pushed up from below, not pulled up from above: to prevent the chain buckling, it was enclosed in a conduit. At the bottom of the run, the chains passed around 3.9 m (12 ft 10 in) diameter sprockets. Smaller sprockets at the top guided the chains.
The Otis lifts originally fitted in the north and south legs
Installing lifts to the second level was more of a challenge because a straight track was impossible. No French company wanted to undertake the work. The European branch of Otis Brothers & Company submitted a proposal but this was rejected: the fair's charter ruled out the use of any foreign material in the construction of the tower. The deadline for bids was extended but still no French companies put themselves forward, and eventually the contract was given to Otis in July 1887. Otis were confident they would eventually be given the contract and had already started creating designs.
The car was divided into two superimposed compartments, each holding 25 passengers, with the lift operator occupying an exterior platform on the first level. Motive power was provided by an inclined hydraulic ram 12.67 m (41 ft 7 in) long and 96.5 cm (38.0 in) in diameter in the tower leg with a stroke of 10.83 m (35 ft 6 in): this moved a carriage carrying six sheaves. Five fixed sheaves were mounted higher up the leg, producing an arrangement similar to a block and tackle but acting in reverse, multiplying the stroke of the piston rather than the force generated. The hydraulic pressure in the driving cylinder was produced by a large open reservoir on the second level. After being exhausted from the cylinder, the water was pumped back up to the reservoir by two pumps in the machinery room at the base of the south leg. This reservoir also provided power to the lifts to the first level.
The original lifts for the journey between the second and third levels were supplied by Léon Edoux. A pair of 81 m (266 ft) hydraulic rams were mounted on the second level, reaching nearly halfway up to the third level. One lift car was mounted on top of these rams: cables ran from the top of this car up to sheaves on the third level and back down to a second car. Each car travelled only half the distance between the second and third levels and passengers were required to change lifts halfway by means of a short gangway. The 10-ton cars each held 65 passengers.
Engraved names
Gustave Eiffel engraved on the tower the names of 72 French scientists, engineers and mathematicians in recognition of their contributions to the building of the tower. Eiffel chose this "invocation of science" because of his concern over the artists' protest. At the beginning of the 20th century, the engravings were painted over, but they were restored in 1986–87 by the Société Nouvelle d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, a company operating the tower.
Aesthetics
The tower is painted in three shades: lighter at the top, getting progressively darker towards the bottom to complement the Parisian sky. It was originally reddish brown; this changed in 1968 to a bronze colour known as "Eiffel Tower Brown". In what is expected to be a temporary change, the tower is being painted gold in commemoration of the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The only non-structural elements are the four decorative grill-work arches, added in Sauvestre's sketches, which served to make the tower look more substantial and to make a more impressive entrance to the exposition.
A pop-culture movie cliché is that the view from a Parisian window always includes the tower. In reality, since zoning restrictions limit the height of most buildings in Paris to seven storeys, only a small number of tall buildings have a clear view of the tower.
Maintenance
Maintenance of the tower includes applying 60 tons of paint every seven years to prevent it from rusting. The tower has been completely repainted at least 19 times since it was built. Lead paint was still being used as recently as 2001 when the practice was stopped out of concern for the environment.
Communications
The tower has been used for making radio transmissions since the beginning of the 20th century. Until the 1950s, sets of aerial wires ran from the cupola to anchors on the Avenue de Suffren and Champ de Mars. These were connected to longwave transmitters in small bunkers. In 1909, a permanent underground radio centre was built near the south pillar, which still exists today. On 20 November 1913, the Paris Observatory, using the Eiffel Tower as an aerial, exchanged wireless signals with the United States Naval Observatory, which used an aerial in Arlington County, Virginia. The object of the transmissions was to measure the difference in longitude between Paris and Washington, D.C. Today, radio and digital television signals are transmitted from the Eiffel Tower.
Digital television
A television antenna was first installed on the tower in 1957, increasing its height by 18.7 m (61 ft). Work carried out in 2000 added a further 5.3 m (17 ft), giving the current height of 324 m (1,063 ft).[59] Analogue television signals from the Eiffel Tower ceased on 8 March 2011.
Taller structures
The Eiffel Tower was the world's tallest structure when completed in 1889, a distinction it retained until 1929 when the Chrysler Building in New York City was topped out. The tower also lost its standing as the world's tallest tower to the Tokyo Tower in 1958 but retains its status as the tallest freestanding (non-guyed) structure in France.
Transport
The nearest Paris Métro station is Bir-Hakeim and the nearest RER station is Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel. The tower itself is located at the intersection of the quai Branly and the Pont d'Iéna.
Popularity
Number of visitors per year between 1889 and 2004
More than 300 million people have visited the tower since it was completed in 1889. In 2015, there were 6.91 million visitors. The tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world. An average of 25,000 people ascend the tower every day (which can result in long queues).
Illumination copyright
The tower and its image have been in the public domain since 1993, 70 years after Eiffel's death. In June 1990 a French court ruled that a special lighting display on the tower in 1989 to mark the tower's 100th anniversary was an "original visual creation" protected by copyright. The Court of Cassation, France's judicial court of last resort, upheld the ruling in March 1992. The Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE) now considers any illumination of the tower to be a separate work of art that falls under copyright. As a result, the SNTE alleges that it is illegal to publish contemporary photographs of the lit tower at night without permission in France and some other countries for commercial use. For this reason, it is often rare to find images or videos of the lit tower at night on stock image sites, and media outlets rarely broadcast images or videos of it.
The imposition of copyright has been controversial. The Director of Documentation for what was then called the Société Nouvelle d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SNTE), Stéphane Dieu, commented in 2005: "It is really just a way to manage commercial use of the image, so that it isn't used in ways [of which] we don't approve". SNTE made over €1 million from copyright fees in 2002. However, it could also be used to restrict the publication of tourist photographs of the tower at night, as well as hindering non-profit and semi-commercial publication of images of the illuminated tower.
The copyright claim itself has never been tested in courts to date, according to a 2014 article in the Art Law Journal, and there has never been an attempt to track down millions of people who have posted and shared their images of the illuminated tower on the Internet worldwide. It added, however, that permissive situation may arise on commercial use of such images, like in a magazine, on a film poster, or on product packaging.
French doctrine and jurisprudence allows pictures incorporating a copyrighted work as long as their presence is incidental or accessory to the subject being represented, a reasoning akin to the de minimis rule. Therefore, SETE may be unable to claim copyright on photographs of Paris which happen to include the lit tower.
Replicas
As one of the most famous landmarks in the world, the Eiffel Tower has been the inspiration for the creation of many replicas and similar towers. An early example is Blackpool Tower in England. The mayor of Blackpool, Sir John Bickerstaffe, was so impressed on seeing the Eiffel Tower at the 1889 exposition that he commissioned a similar tower to be built in his town. It opened in 1894 and is 158.1 m (519 ft) tall. Tokyo Tower in Japan, built as a communications tower in 1958, was also inspired by the Eiffel Tower.[111]
There are various scale models of the tower in the United States, including a half-scale version at the Paris Las Vegas, Nevada, one in Paris, Texas built in 1993, and two 1:3 scale models at Kings Island, located in Mason, Ohio, and Kings Dominion, Virginia, amusement parks opened in 1972 and 1975 respectively. Two 1:3 scale models can be found in China, one in Durango, Mexico that was donated by the local French community, and several across Europe.
In 2011, the TV show Pricing the Priceless on the National Geographic Channel speculated that a full-size replica of the tower would cost approximately US$480 million to build. This would be more than ten times the cost of the original (nearly 8 million in 1890 Francs; ~US$40 million in 2018 dollars).
Handmade Collage... www.kieransperring.tumblr.com
© All Rights Reserved - Do Not Use Without My Permission.
In my job, I do get around. You might have noticed.
This week my destination was Denmark's 3rd city, Odense. It is most famous for being the birthplace of one Hans Christian Andersen, story=teller supreme. Although he left town at the age of 15, and from what I gather, once famous sponged off people for a place to kip rather than use hotels. Each to their own.
My taxi driver back to the hotel said he translated HCA's diaries into French and found him to be a bore and not likable.
Who'd have thunk it?
I was dropped off at the Cathedral, dedicated to the last of the Viking Kings, Cnut, but found it locked, I was ten minutes after closing.
Anyway, I wandered around the town, looking for Hans# house, but saw plenty of signs pointing the way, but not the house. Did find the car park for the house, so snapped the sign for that and went back to the hotel.
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Odense (Danish pronunciation: [ˈoðˀn̩sə] ( listen)) is the third largest city in Denmark. It has a population of 173,814 as of January 2015,[citation needed] and is the main city of the island of Funen. By road, Odense is located 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Svendborg, 144 kilometres (89 mi) to the south of Aarhus and 167 kilometres (104 mi) to the southwest of Copenhagen. The city is the seat of Odense Municipality and was the seat of Odense County until 1970, and Funen County from 1970 until 1 January 2007, when Funen County became part of the Region of Southern Denmark. Odense has close associations with Hans Christian Andersen who is remembered above all for his fairy tales. He was born in the city in 1805 and spent his childhood years there.
There has been human settlement in the Odense area for over 4,000 years, although the name was not mentioned in writing until 988, and by 1070, it had already grown into a thriving city. Canute IV of Denmark, generally considered to be the last Viking king, was murdered by unruly peasants in Odense's St Alban's Priory on 10 July 1086. Although the city was burned in 1249 following a royal rivalry, it quickly recovered and flourished as a centre of commerce in the Middle Ages. After a period of decline, large-scale plans for development were made during the 18th century, which led to the rebuilding of Odense Palace and the building of a canal to the Port of Odense, facilitating trade. In 1865, one of the largest railway terminals in Denmark was built, further increasing the population and commerce, and by 1900, Odense had reached a population of 35,000. Odense's Odinstårnet was one of the tallest towers in Europe when built in 1935 but was destroyed by the Nazis during World War II. The University of Southern Denmark was established in 1966.
In the present day, Odense remains the commercial hub of Funen, and has a notable shopping district with a diversity of stores. Several major industries are located in the city including the Albani Brewery and GASA, Denmark's major dealer in vegetables, fruits and flowers. The city is home to Odense Palace, erected by King Frederick IV who died there in 1730, the Odense Theatre, the Odense Symphony Orchestra, and the Hans Christian Andersen Museum, situated in the house that was the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen. In sports, Odense has a number of football clubs including OB, BM, B1909, and B1913, the Odense Bulldogs professional ice hockey team, and the city also hosts the H.C. Andersen Marathon. Odense is served by Hans Christian Andersen Airport and Odense station, which lies on the line between Copenhagen and the Jutland peninsula.
The name Odense is derived from Odins Vé, meaning "Odin's sanctuary" as the area was known as a sanctuary for worshippers of the Nordic god, Odin.[1]
Odense is one of Denmark's oldest cities. Archaeological excavations in the vicinity show proof of settlement for over 4,000 years since at least the Stone Age.[2][1] The earliest community was centred on the higher ground between the Odense River to the south and Naesbyhoved Lake (now dry) to the north. Nonnebakken, one of Denmark's former Viking ring fortresses, lay to the south of the river.[3] Today, Odense's Møntergården Museum has many artefacts related to the early Viking history in the Odense area.[4] The Vikings built numerous fortifications along the river banks to defend it against invaders coming in from the coast.
The city celebrated its thousandth anniversary in 1988, commemorating the first mention of the town's name in a letter dated 18 March 988 from the German Emperor Otto III which granted rights to Odense and neighbouring settlements.[5] The first church in Odense appears to have been St Mary's,[6] probably built in the late 12th century.[7] The territory, previously part of the vast archbishopric of Hamburg, was created a Catholic diocese in 988. The first recorded bishops of Odense were Odinkar Hvide and Reginbert, who was consecrated by Æthelnoth, archbishop of Canterbury, in 1022.[8]
Recent excavations have shown that from the early 11th century, the town developed in the area around Albani Torv, Fisketorvet, Overgade and Vestergade.[3] By 1070, Odense had already grown into a city of stature in Denmark.[1] Canute IV of Denmark, generally considered to be the last Viking king, was murdered by unruly peasants, discontent with the high taxes he imposed on the town, in Odense's St Alban's Priory on 10 July 1086.[1] He was canonized in 1100.[9] The priory no longer exists, although a church has been situated on the site since about 900. At the beginning of the 12th century, Benedictine monks from England founded St Canute's Abbey. It was here the English monk Ælnoth wrote Denmark's first literary work, Vita et Passio S. Canuti (The Life and Passion of St Canute).[9] Canute's shrine in Odense Cathedral (which was attached to the priory) attracted pilgrims throughout the Middle Ages.
In the Middle Ages, a number of churches and monasteries were built in the town. St Canute's Church (Skt. Knuds Kirke), now the cathedral, dates from the end of the 13th century and was closely connected to the Benedictine Order. The town's other old churches are St Mary's (Vor Frue Kirke) and St John's (Skt. Hans Kirke) with its adjacent monastery. Greyfriars Monastery (Gråbrødre Kloster) was founded by the Franciscans in 1279.[5]
In 1247 Odense was burned by Abel of Denmark during conflicts with his brother King Erik IV.[11] The cathedral had to be completely rebuilt.[12] Nevertheless, the town continued to flourish as a commercial centre, and was charted in 1335.[10] The city thrived economically during the Middle Ages, attracting many merchants and craftsman who traded their goods.[2]
In 1482 Bishop Karl Rønnov brought the German printer Johann Snell to Odense to print a short prayer book, Breviarium Ottoniense, considered to be the first work to be printed in Scandinavia. In parallel Snell printed De obsidione et bello Rhodiano, an account of the Turkish siege of the island of Rhodes.[13][14]
After the Danish Reformation, involving the suppression of the Catholic bishopric in 1536, the city enjoyed a sustained period of prosperity from the 1530s to the mid-17th century, becoming northern Funen's commercial centre. One of the main sources of income was the sale of cattle, providing substantial funds for the construction of fine half-timbered houses for the local merchants. The local nobility also participated in the city's development by building residences where they spent the winter months. But the city's prosperity came to an abrupt end in the late 1650s heavy taxes were imposed after the end of the Swedish Wars. A period of stagnation ensued until the end of the 18th century.[9]
From the 16th century the town was the meeting-place of several parliaments, and until 1805 Odense was the seat of the provincial assembly of Funen. By 1700 Odense's population was about 4,000.
Odense is the see of the bishop of Funen. Saint Canute's Cathedral (Danish: Sankt Knuds Kirke) was formerly connected with the great Benedictine monastery of the same name, and is one of the largest and finest buildings of its kind in Denmark.[55][56] Originally dating from 1081–1093, the church was rebuilt in the 13th century in brick in a pure Gothic style. Under the altar lies Canute (Danish: Knud), the patron saint of Denmark and his brother on public display. A large fragment of Byzantine cloth is displayed next to the two skeletons. The cathedral also boasts one of Denmark's most remarkable altarpieces, a magnificent triptych by Claus Berg. Kings John (Danish: Hans) and Christian II are buried in the city.[57]
St Alban's Church, built in the Neogothic style and consecrated in 1908, is the Roman Catholic church of Odense. Its steeple is 54 m (177 ft) high.[58] St Mary's Church (Vor Frue Kirke or Our Lady's Church), built in the 13th century and restored in 1851–1852 and again in 1864, contains a carved 16th-century altarpiece by Claus Berg of Lübeck.[59] St John's Church (Sankt Hans Kirke), first mentioned in 1295, was built by the Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Order of Saint John. Not much of the original building remains as it was rebuilt in 1636 and subsequently restored. Built of red brick with horizontal decorations on the chancel wall, it has large Gothic windows. The date of 1496 on one of the bells in the step-ribbed tower may well be the year the church was completed. The tower is adjacent to Odense Palace which was originally built as a monastery.[60]
Ansgars Church was the first church to be built in Odense since the Middle Ages. Completed in 1902, it was designed by Niels Jacobsen in the late Romanesque style in red brick on granite foundations. The cross-shaped interior is complemented by a spired bell-tower, 45 m (148 ft) high.[61] The Peace Church (Fredenskirke) consecrated in 1920 was so named in gratitude for the end of the First World War. The church was the work of Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint who went on to design Copenhagen's Grundtvig's Church.
The foundation is crumbling, and becoming one with the ground, while you lay there in slumber. You're wasting your life. Wasting your life.
An dieser herausragenden Stelle im Dom setzte der Merseburger Klerus dem Gegenkönig Heinrichs IV. (1056-1106) im Zuge des Investiturstreites ein aufsehenerregendes Grabdenkmal. gestorben. Es ist die älteste bronzene Bildnisgrabplatte Mitteleuropas und war einst vergoldet und mit Edelsteinen ausgelegt. Rudolf von Rheinfelden war 1080 in der Schlacht bei Hohenmölsen nach einer schweren Verwundung gestorben
In this prominent place in the cathedral, the Merseburg clergy erected a sensational funerary monument to the anti-king of Henry IV (1056-1106) in the course of the investiture dispute. It is the oldest bronze portrait tomb slab in Central Europe and was once gilded and inlaid with precious stones. Rudolf von Rheinfelden had died of a severe wound in the Battle of Hohenmölsen.
Der Merseburger Dom St. Johannes und St. Laurentius ist eine evangelische Kirche und eines der herausragenden Baudenkmäler der an der Straße der Romanik gelegenen einstigen Pfalz- und Bischofsstadt Merseburg. Jahrhundertelang, von 968 bis 981 und von 1004 bis 1561, war er Zentrum des Bistums Merseburg sowie des gleichnamigen Hochstifts. Daher besitzt der viertürmige Dom, der den vierten Flügel von Schloss Merseburg bildet, eine reichhaltige Ausstattung. Sein Bau wurde 1015 begonnen. Allerdings stammen nur die Krypta, die runden Chorbegleittürme, die Fundamente der Westtürme sowie die unteren Teile des Querhauses einschließlich der beiden Apsiden aus der ursprünglichen romanischen Bauphase. Der größte Teil des Doms wurde hingegen im gotischen Stil umgebaut. Hier findet man viele Besonderheiten. Darunter die älteste Bronzegrabplatte Mitteleuropas, an Rudolf von Rheinfelden (auch Rudolf von Schwaben) erinnernd, den 1080 bei Hohenmölsen gefallenen Gegenkönig gegen König Heinrich IV.. Die bemerkenswerten Glasmalereien aus dem 13. Jahrhundert gingen verloren und wurden Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts durch neue ersetzt. Der Künstler Charles Crodel knüpfte jedoch an die mittelalterliche Bildsprache an. Das romanische Kruzifix und ein Taufstein aus dem 12. Jahrhundert sind erhalten. In der „Schatzkammer“ auf der Südseite des Kreuzgangs werden herausragende Stücke aus dem Domschatz ausgestellt. Die romantisch gestimmte Ladegast-Orgel aus den 1850er-Jahren gehört zu den größten Orgeln Deutschlands. Im Domstiftsarchiv liegen die berühmten Merseburger Zaubersprüche. Ein originalgetreues Faksimile kann im sogenannten „Zauberspruchgewölbe“ des Doms besichtigt werden.
Verschiedene Quellen, vor allem de.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Merseburg
Merseburg Cathedral of St John and St Laurentius is a Protestant church and one of the outstanding architectural monuments of the former palatine and episcopal town of Merseburg, located on the Romanesque Road. For centuries, from 968 to 981 and from 1004 to 1561, it was the centre of the diocese of Merseburg and the high monastery of the same name. The four-towered cathedral, which forms the fourth wing of Merseburg Castle, is therefore richly decorated. Its construction was begun in 1015. However, only the crypt, the round choir towers, the foundations of the west towers and the lower parts of the transept, including the two apses, date from the original Romanesque construction phase. Most of the cathedral, however, was rebuilt in the Gothic style. There are many special features here. These include the oldest bronze burial slab in Central Europe, commemorating Rudolf of Rheinfelden (also known as Rudolf of Swabia), the counter-king who fell against King Henry IV at Hohenmölsen in 1080. The remarkable stained glass windows from the 13th century were lost and replaced by new ones in the mid-20th century. However, the artist Charles Crodel continued the medieval imagery. The Romanesque crucifix and a baptismal font from the 12th century have been preserved. In the "treasure chamber" on the south side of the cloister, outstanding pieces from the cathedral treasury are on display. The romantically tuned Ladegast organ from the 1850s is one of the largest organs in Germany. The famous Merseburg spells are kept in the cathedral archives. A facsimile true to the original can be viewed in the so-called "spell vault" of the cathedral.
Various sources, especially de.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Merseburg
The Foundations - Build me up
Gamers are everywhere, coming in all ages and genders, and developers have grown up, too. Warren Spector
(Looks nicer in lightbox...just click on the image for a larger view)
- Usery Mountains, Apache Trail, Superstitions
One thing becomes evident when you explore the mountains and cliffs of the Arizona desert: The stuff under the ground appears to be made from jagged rock and rising stone. Everywhere you look, you see giant precipices bursting out of the earth...and you realize that the soil is hiding some amazing beauty that we may never see.
The title of today's post is from the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers soundtrack. Weird how just kind of browsing for a title helps find meaning in a photo.
This was taken back on January 30th on my lone day off before I started the new day job. I can't even tell you how amazing that day was with the light, the shadows and the clouds. I was definitely blessed when I hit the road that morning.
What I do like about this shot is the fact I pulled out the 50mm for it. I tend to mostly shoot landscapes wide with the 17-35, but sometimes you want to get something different.
(exif: canon 5d mark ii, canon 50mm 1.4, f/10, iso 100)