The Eiffel Tower’s Original Staircase is Up for Auction in Paris

Tomorrow in Paris, an original staircase segment from the Eiffel Tower designed by Gustav Eiffel will go on auction at Artcurial. For the last 20 days, this bolted wrought iron staircase has been on display in the courtyard of Artcurial’s hotel particulier for the public to view. Artcurial will start the auction at 40,000 euros but expect the final amount to be significant: previous sections of the staircase were sold by Artcurial for 220,000 euros in 2013 and 523,800 euros in 2016. This section will be the tallest ever put up for Auction by Artcurial, at a little over 14 feet tall with 25 steps.

Gustav Eiffel on the original staircase of the Eiffel Tower. Photo © DR courtesy of Artcurial

Dating to 1889, the piece of the helicoidal staircase for sale is part of a larger section that was originally located between the last two floors of the Eiffel Tower. It was dismantled in 1983 to accommodate an elevator and cut into 13 sections between 6.5 feet and 29.5 feet high. One piece remains on display at the Eiffel Tower and three other were offered to museums in France: the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, the Cité Sciences et Industrie in La Villette in Paris  and the Musée de l’Histoire du Fer in Nancy. The other 20 pieces were auctioned off, with the only pieces remaining in France sold to the singer Guy Béart. The rest were spread around the world.

Photo courtesy of © Artcurial

Photo courtesy of © Artcurial

One segment of the staircase is in the Kiyoharu Art Village in the Yamanashi Prefecture, an initiative by art dealer Chozo Yoshii. The village contains not only a section of the Eiffel Tower, but also a recreation of a building by Gustav Eiffel that once housed the studio of Marc Chagall.

Gustav Eiffel was also responsible for the engineering of the Statue of Liberty and the helicoidal staircase within the body of Lady Liberty can be seen up close on a climb to the crown.

Next, check out the Top 10 Secrets of the Eiffel Tower.