The Eiffel Tower:A Paris Story

24 The Eiffel Tower: A Paris Story Paris is a city with many historic buildings and monuments. Everywhere you look, there are reminders of France's glorious past. But did you know that the most famous historic building in Paris is not really old at all? It's just a little over 100 years old. That's a spring chicken compared to the Palais of Versailles, for whose construction began in 1664. Every year, nearly seven million people visit the Eiffel Tower. Most people around the world can recognize it in a picture. When people think of Paris, they first think of this 324-metre steel tower. It was built between the years1887 and 1889. From the very beginning, the Eiffel Tower was controversial. In 1889, Paris was holding the World Fair. In those days, this was a prestigious honour. A contest was held for a building to be erected to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.

Gustave Eiffel won this contest with his proposal to build the steel structure that is so famous today. The intellectuals and others in Parisian society were against the design from the beginning. Some of the great French philosophers spoke out strongly against it. Many felt that the building should be made of stone or marble-any- thing but steel. They wanted the building to reflect Parisian tradition. But Eiffel built his tower. It held the title as the world's tallest building until the Empire State Building in the US was built 40 years later. Here are a few facts about the tower: if you walk to the top (although most people take the elevator), you will climb 1, 671 steps; the Eiffel tower is covered with 40 tons of paint; at the top, it can sway nearly 15 centimetres in a high wind; its total weight is 8. 5 million kilograms; it cost about 1. 5 million dollars to build and it was assembled by 300 steel workers. The Eiffel Tower was almost demolished in 1909 when the lease for the land ran out. Luckily, it survived. It's impossible to think of Paris without thinking of this famous landmark-the Eiffel Tour. It began in controversy, but today it's a symbol of Paris.