The Secret Apartment Gustave Eiffel Refused to Rent

When Gustave Eiffel finished building the world's tallest structure in 1889, he quietly added one thing the public would never get to use: a private apartment for himself, 906 feet above the streets of Paris.

The Apartment Nobody Could Buy

Tucked on the third level of the tower, just below the spire, the apartment measured about 1,000 square feet. It was modest - a living room with a table, a couch, and a grand piano; three small desks for work; a kitchen; and a bathroom. There was no bedroom. Eiffel never intended to live there. He intended to think there.

The contrast with the rest of the tower was striking. Outside: raw industrial ironwork. Inside: warm paisley wallpaper, soft chintz furniture, wooden cabinets, and a gas lamp. Writer Henri Girard, who published a book on the tower in 1891, noted that Eiffel "received innumerable letters offering him a small fortune to rent his pied a terre by the night." Eiffel declined every single offer.

What He Did Up There

Eiffel used the apartment for two things: science and select guests. He installed a meteorological laboratory on the third floor the day after the tower opened and spent years conducting atmospheric measurements and early aerodynamic experiments. The tower's elevation - far above every other structure in Europe at the time - made it an unmatched scientific platform. His research would later help justify keeping the tower standing when its original demolition permit expired in 1909.

Thomas Edison's Visit

The apartment's most celebrated guest arrived on September 10, 1889. Thomas Edison had come to Paris for the World's Fair, where he was exhibiting his own inventions. He made a point of climbing to the top of the tower to meet Eiffel and brought a gift: a Class M phonograph, one of the newest sound-recording machines ever made. He inscribed it: "To Mr. Eiffel, 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."

Eiffel used the phonograph to record the voices of guests and loved ones, including his daughter Claire and other family members.

What Remains Today

The apartment still exists on the third level. Most of the space now houses technical equipment, but a small section has been restored to its 1889 appearance. Visitors who reach the summit can look through the windows at three wax figures: Gustave Eiffel, his daughter Claire, and Thomas Edison, seated together in the room where it all happened. Entry is included with a summit ticket.