Towering ambitions

On the 100th anniversary of the death of Gustave Eiffel, a series of exhibitions considers how the French engineer shaped the urban landscape

The Paris of Gustave Eiffel (1832–1923)

Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, Paris Until 8 January 2024

From its location opposite Eiffel’s 330-metre-high tower, the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine in the Palais de Chaillot is particularly well-placed to host this exhibition in homage to the engineer. Looking beyond the tower he created for the 1889 Universal Exposition, it explores Eiffel’s role in the French capital – and further afield – by bringing together designs, objects and photographs that reveal his connection to figures such as Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who designed the Statue of Liberty, and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, from whom Eiffel took over as lead engineer on the construction of the statue.

Eiffel, Higher and Higher Eiffel Tower, Paris

Until 31 December

This exhibition of illustrated panels on the esplanade of the Eiffel Tower presents archival material from private collections – some previously unseen – that tells the story of the race among industrialists to create a 1,000-foot-high tower, the backlash Eiffel received before, during and after its construction, and his battle to prevent its scheduled demolition 20 years later.

Gustave Eiffel and Photography Swiss Camera Museum, Vevey Until 28 April 2024

Captivated during the 1880s by autochromes, the first practicable colour photography technique, Eiffel indulged a passion for the medium – preparing plates, shooting and developing his own work – during summer holidays in Vevey in Switzerland. The town is now home to the Swiss Camera Museum, which is hosting an exhibition of Eiffel’s efforts in both colour and black-and-white.

Gustave Eiffel, Bridge Builder Musée d’Orsay, Paris

Until 4 February 2024

Long before Eiffel’s name became synonymous with his tower, he enjoyed success with designs for bridges. This exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris brings together plans and photographs that illustrate his comparatively lesserknown triumphs, including the Garabit viaduct in the Massif Central and the Maria Pia Bridge in Porto (pictured).