The Eiffel Tower by night
The Eiffel Tower is a landmark of modern Europe, the design of French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel for the Paris International Exhibition in the late 19th century. The tower is 984 feet high and consists of an open iron framework on four masonry piers. The piers support four columns that come together to form the shaft of the structure. Eiffel also was the engineer for the frame of the Statue of Liberty.
Eiffel was not a popular man when he started building the huge steel-frame tower that would overlook Paris. The structure was just too different and the critics didn’t like it at all. In 1887, the leading artists of Paris signed a petition to have what they regarded as a monstrosity torn down immediately.
Fortunately for Paris, their call was ignored. And though Parisians didn’t like it at first, they began to grow fond of the structure they initially called a “cyclops” and a “skeleton.”
The Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889, just in time to show off for the World’s Fair, being held that year in Paris.
The tower was also a sign of things to come. Eiffel was taking full advantage of a new building material — structural steel. With it he took the first step in creating what would become the modern skyscraper.
In 1909 the view that you now see from the Eiffel tower was almost destroyed. Jealous architects and short-sighted government officials wanted to tear the tower down after the rights to use the land for the International Exposition of 1889 expired. The only reason this durable and graceful symbol of Paris was saved was because it proved its value for another new technology — radio. The tower became a 984 ft. radio antenna. Later, a television antenna added 56 feet to Eiffel’s height.
From the Eiffel Tower, you can see 50 miles in any direction. Several major Parisian landmarks are within reach here, such as the Louvre and the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
The Eiffel Tower’s revolutionary latticework earned Eiffel the title “magician of iron.”