Inside the Secret Apartment at the Top of the Eiffel Tower

Ken Weiss of the architectural channel This House looked at the history of the Eiffel Tower, specifically noting that a private apartment was built at the top of the tower so that designer Gustav Eiffel could work without being disturbed.

Built by engineer Gustave Eiffel himself, this private sky-high retreat featured wallpapered walls, plush furniture, and even a piano, nearly 1,000 feet above Paris.

While the apartment boasted the incredible luxury of the time, it was basically used as technical storage during and after World War II.

The top of the tower was needed for bulkytransmission equipment. ...The only availableinterior space to stash this gear was, you guessed it, Eiffel's old apartment. Little by little,the cozy wallpapered rooms were filled with technology equipment, until almost nothing of the original furnishings remained. Fortunately, this isn't where the story ends.

Luckily, the apartment has been restored with period appropriate accoutrements, albeit not as living quarters, but as a museum that recognizes the work of Gustav Eiffel.

In recent decades, the Eiffel Tower's caretakers recognized the historical significance of Eiffel'sprivate office and decided to restore a portionof it for visitors. The apartment may no longerfunction as living quarters, but today a smallsection has been carefully recreated to its1890s appearance.

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