The Eiffel Tower dominates the Champ de Mars. Looming 1,063 feet into the sky – as high as an 80-storey building – it is the tallest structure in Paris. Nicknamed the Iron Lady, this lattice structure consists of over 18,000 pieces of iron held together by two and a half million rivets.
The tower is named after its designer, Gustave Eiffel, who was commissioned to create a monumental structure to serve as the entrance arch to the 1889 Exposition Universelle, or World’s Fair. Although the structure was intended to be taken down after 20 years – the fair’s planners specified the tower must be easy to demolish – Eiffel envisioned and built a “bridge into the sky” that would last forever.
Eiffel’s tower was so big, and so unique, that it was almost universally condemned upon it’s completion. Angry letters filled the newspapers of the day, decrying how unattractive and even hideous the tower was. Parisian artists and architects thought it to be a work of engineering devoid of any “artistic sensibility.” Others admitted to a certain artistic quality, but felt it had been thrown together without any regard for engineering. Its huge size made it an ugly blot on an otherwise beautiful city. The French novelist Guy de Maupassant, who ate lunch every day in the tower’s restaurant, hated the tower. When asked why he would have lunch there, he answered that it was the only place in the city where he couldn’t see the tower.
With the passage of time, disgust with the tower has transformed into admiration. Just as it was once generally despised as a monstrosity, it is today universally appreciated as a stunning architectural achievement. It has become one of the top tourist attractions in the world, with around 250 million people having come to the tower since its opening to the public in 1889. Today, over seven million people a year tour the tower, take pictures, learn its history, eat in its two restaurants, and ascend to its top and enjoy the magnificent views of the city of Paris. All come away moved by the experience.
The Eiffel Tower now shares a place in French history. After it was decided in 1909 not to dismantle it, radio towers were placed on and within the tower. During the first world war, these transmitters jammed German radios and helped save Paris from German invasion when they were used to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne. When the Germans occupied Paris in the next war, the French disabled the tower’s elevators so Adolph Hitler would be forced to climb to the top. Hitler decided to view the tower from the ground instead, and Parisians delight in the thought that Hitler may have conquered France, but could not conquer the Eiffel Tower.
I have not had the pleasure of visiting Paris, but when I go the Eiffel Tower will be at the top of my “visit” list. I find the tower truly amazing – it is both a beautiful work of art and an architectural marvel. My daughter recently visited the tower, and was impressed with the beauty of its lattice work – especially when viewed looking upward from underneath the tower. The rest of the world apparently sees what we’ve seen – the tower has inspired the construction of numerous duplicate structures around the world, in countries such as the United States, Russia and China. The “tower” can now be visited in Las Vegas and at EPCOT Center in Disney World.
The "Eiffel Tower" in Las Vegas, Nevada
Today, the Eiffel Tower has become a part of France. It stands as a symbol of France’s place in the modern world. The widespread criticism is gone, replaced with a wonder that few man-made structures anywhere in the world can produce. In 1889, the planners of the World’s Fair wanted something that would demonstrate to the world the glory and magnificence of France. Whether they believed it or not at the time, their wish was granted.
A final thought - does it look crooked to you?
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