The Eiffel Tower, by Taylor Stern

History of the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower was built for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889 commemorating the centenary of the French Revolution. Of the 700 proposals submitted in a design competition, Gustave Eiffel's was unanimously chosen.

 

The Eiffel Tower is 300 meters tall, more when the antenna is factored in. The tower weighs 7,000 tons and was the world's tallest building until 1930.

Other details about the Eiffel Tower include:

2.5 million rivets

300 steel workers, and 2 years (1887-1889) to construct it.

Sway of at most 12 cm in high winds.

Height varies up to 15 cm depending on temperature.

15,000 iron pieces (excluding rivets). 40 tons of paint. 1652 steps to the top.

 

The tower was almost torn down in 1909, but was saved because of its antenna used both for military and other purposes, and the city let it stand after the permit expired. When the tower played an important role in capturing the infamous spy Mata Hari during World War I, it gained such importance to the French people that there was no more thought of demolishing it.- used for telegraphy at that time.

From 1910 and on the Eiffel Tower became part of the International Time Service. French radio (since 1918), and French television (since 1957) have also made use of its stature.

During its lifetime, the Eiffel Tower has also witnessed a few strange scenes, including being scaled by a mountaineer in 1954, and parachuted off of in 1984 by two Englishmen. In 1923 a journalist rode a bicycle down from the first level. Some accounts say he rode down the stairs, other accounts suggest the exterior of one of the tower's four legs which slope outward.