1-157-838 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Eiffel Tower elevator, 1889. Elevator built by Otis. An elevator car and one leg of the tower showing the elevator system with (1) hydraulic cylinder; (2) travelling multiplying pulleys; (3) stationary multiplying pulleys; (4) landing platform; (5) ascending car; (6) cables. Designed by the French civil engineer Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), the Eiffel Tower was built for the International Exhibition staged in Paris in 1889 to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. Constructed from iron, it was the tallest building in the world until 1930. American inventor Elisha Graves Otis successfully demonstrated his safety elevator at the American Institute Fair in New York in 1854 and went on to found the Otis Elevator Company.