The story behind the Eiffel Tower sculpture inside CF Masonville Place

A retired former engineer has turned his career into a passion.

Art Stokman partnered with CF Masonville Place to enhance their Home of Team Canada Lounge inside the mall in London, Ont.

Stokman constructed an Eiffel Tower, built to scale, using Meccano.

“It’s the 100th anniversary since Paris had the last Olympics, and what could be better than a 100 year old Eiffel Tower built from 100 nickel-platted Meccano from Liverpool, England,” said Stokman.

He built the tower using thousands of nuts and bolts, scaling pictures from the internet. The model stands 14-feet high inside Masonville Place and is built 1/75th to scale, even including little human figurines.

Stokman said it’s the Meccano toy that inspired him to become an engineer, and even constructed a Ferris wheel as a child.

“I came across a collection of this nickel-platted Meccano in Hamilton, an 88-year-old gentleman had so much of it in his burnt out garage. He said, ‘You can have it all, as long as you build something special,’ and I promised him I would,” said Stokman, who kept his promise, completing the tower in 2016.

Stokman said his Eiffel Tower went on tour for about seven years, going on display inside city halls, three different universities, Casa Loma, downtown Toronto, and the London Children’s Museum.

The Meccano Eiffel Tower will be on the ground floor at CF Masonville Place and remain on display during the duration of the 2024 Paris Olympics.