c0nc0rdance: Bits of history about the Eiffel Tower: 1. It was built to commemorate the 100 yr anniversary of the French Revolution at 1889 'Exposition Universelle' (world's fair). 2. It was supposed to be TEMPORARY, to stand until 1909 when it would be disassembled. This fate was averted

Bits of history about the Eiffel Tower: 1. It was built to commemorate the 100 yr anniversary of the French Revolution at 1889 'Exposition Universelle' (world's fair). 2. It was supposed to be TEMPORARY, to stand until 1909 when it would be disassembled. This fate was averted

... because it was valuable to emerging wireless telegraph. In 1898, a signal was sent to the Pantheon, 4 km away. By WWII, it was an important radio broadcast antenna. 3. It was initially reviled as a blight on Paris' beauty: 300 artists signed a petition of protest...

...that ends thusly: "And for 20 years … we shall see stretching like a blot of ink the hateful shadow of the hateful column of bolted sheet metal." 4. The assembly was mostly built on cantilever physics, because scaffolding was difficult beyond the first layer.

5. But that first layer DID have timber supports to hold up the cross-pieces. Newspapers of the day expressed skepticism the design would work, with headlines like: “Gustave Eiffel Has Gone Mad: He Has Been Confined in an Asylum”

I've never been, but it's on my list!

I have been to the Eifel Tower many years ago, it was quite the experience. We chickened out and used the elevator (which they added later), but it was nevertheless awe-inspiring to walk underneath it and later observe Paris from near the very top. Truly an amazing construction.

If you have a chance to go, and you're physically able, I recommend walking up. All along the route, there are old photographs and explanations of how it was built similar to what you shared here. Took me a long time to walk up, but I'm glad I did it when I was able to!

Amazing! But go in winter, otherwise you can’t get close.

I found this out after I left from my first visit recently to NOLA.

The Eiffel Tower of New Orleanswww.atlasobscura.com A little piece of Paris in the sultry south of the U.S.

Just read about it in The Greater Journey by David McCullough about "the generations of American artists, writers, and doctors who traveled to Paris, fell in love with the city and its people, and changed America through what they learned" Highly recommended www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Gr...

The Greater Journeywww.simonandschuster.com The #1 bestseller that tells the remarkable story of the generations of American artists, writers, and doctors who traveled to Paris, fell in love ...

It was also built for ballooners/scientist to do all kinds of atmosphere tests

Post