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 bulky transmission equipment. …The only available  interior 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’s private office and decided to restore a portion of it for visitors. The apartment may no longer function as living quarters, but today a small section has been carefully recreated to its 1890s appearance.