When the Eiffel Tower opened in 1889, Gustave Eiffel did more than build a tower. He also kept a private apartment for himself at the very top, above the platform open to the public. Paris’s high society wanted in. Eiffel was reportedly flooded with offers of huge sums to rent the place for even a single night, and he turned every one of them down.
The space was small, about 100 square meters, and part of it was taken up by the elevator, a stairwell landing and technical equipment. Even so, it was comfortable. A book published in 1891 described it as “furnished in the simple style dear to scientists.” The rooms had warm wallpaper, soft furniture, wooden cabinets and a piano, plus a kitchen and a bathroom. There was no bedroom, and Eiffel presumably never slept there.
Instead, Eiffel used the apartment to work and to entertain. He carried out scientific experiments there and hosted scientists, including the astronomer Jules Janssen. His most famous guest was American inventor Thomas Edison, who visited in September 1889 and gave Eiffel a phonograph that could record sound on wax. Eiffel also kept a Golden Book in the lounge, which carries the signatures of French President Sadi Carnot, the future King Carlos of Portugal and actress Sarah Bernhardt. Even some of the artists who had signed a petition against the tower when construction began came by to congratulate him, including composer Charles Gounod and painter Ernest Meissonier.
Today, 137 years later, the public can see the room, but not step into it. Anyone with a ticket to the top can look through the windows at a reconstruction of Eiffel’s office, with wax figures of Eiffel and his daughter, Claire, welcoming Edison. Because the room is so small, it’s closed to visitors, and the reconstruction covers only a small part of the original apartment.