Here are some amazing facts about the Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is the most popular landmark in Paris, France and this officially opened to the public on March 31, 1889.
It is estimated that seven million visitors come to this tourist attraction. Here are some of the facts about this famous tower.
It was built as an entrance arch for the 1889 World’s Fair
High-profile project, artists from around the nation sent in plans for a structure to mark the entrance to the fair on the Champ de Mars, based on the article in Mental Floss.
Gustave Eiffel rejected the initial design
After seeing senior engineer Maurice Koechlin’s initial designs, he felt that they were too minimalist. Then, he instructed Koechlin to include more details and flourishes in his redesign. Eiffel approved the final design in 1884.
It required a lot of metal
Two years, two months, and five days were spent by three hundred steelworkers. They constructed this from 1887 to 1889.
The original height was 985 feet
When it was completed, the tower measured 300 meters (985 feet) high. However, during cold weather, it shrinks by up to six inches.
A committee protested the tower with 300 members protested
Authors Guy de Maupassant and Alexandre Dumas, Jr. led the protestors. For them, the tower was “useless and monstrous” but their protest was disregarded.
The tower was supposed to stand for roughly 20 years
It was not intended to be a permanent structure. The tower was scheduled to be dismantled in 1909 but someone realized that its apex was the perfect place for a telegraphy antenna. The wireless telegraph transmitter helped jam German communications during the First World War, at the Battle of the Marne in 1914.
It gets a fresh coat of paint every seven years
To cover the whole tower, about 60 tons of paint are needed to freshen it up. It is operated by a public utility called the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE) and more than 500 workers are in this department as tour guides, security, postal workers, and employees in the tower’s restaurants, shops, and boutiques.