You couldn't possibly visit Paris without seeing the Eiffel
Tower. Even if you do not want to visit this world famous structure, you will
see its top from all over Paris. The tower rises 300 meters tall (984 ft); when
it was completed at the end of the 19th century it was twice as high as the Washington
Monument, at the time the tallest structure in the world.
1889 World Exhibition
The Eiffel Tower was built for the World
Exhibition in 1889, held in celebration of the French Revolution in 1789. The
construction was only meant to last for the duration of the Exposition, but it
still stands today, despite all protests from contemporary artists who feared
the construction would be the advent of structures without 'individuality' and
despite the many people who feared that this huge 'object' would not fit into
the architecture of Paris.
Today, there is no such aversion anymore among the
Parisians, and one could not imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower, in fact it
has become the symbol of the City of Light.
The man behind the Eiffel Tower was Gustave
Eiffel, known from his revolutionary bridge building techniques, as employed in
the great viaduct at Garabit in 1884. These techniques would form the basis for
the construction of the Eiffel Tower. He was also known for the construction of
the Statue of
Liberty's iron framework.
The structure took more than two years to complete. Each one
of the about 12,000 iron pieces was designed separately to give them exactly
the shape needed. All pieces were prefabricated and fit together using approx.
7 million nails. The Tallest Inaugurated March 31, 1889, the Eiffel Tower would
be the tallest structure in the world until the completion of the Chrysler Building in
1930.
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