Eiffel Tower Inaugurated

In 1887, France was two years away from the centennial celebration of the French Revolution.  In honor of the once-in-a-lifetime celebration, Paris planned to host a large World’s Fair, the Exposition Universelle.  Gustave Eiffel was contracted to design a memorable entrance for the fair in 1887.  His tower would later become one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions and largest symbols of French pride.

On this day, March 31st, in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was inaugurated.  Gustave Eiffel’s design featured an open frame made out of 18,000 pieces of puddle iron.  The tower stands at 1,063 ft tall and held the title for tallest man-made structure until 1930.  Eiffel was noted to take extreme safety precautions while building and only one life was lost during construction.

The Eiffel Tower was intended to be torn down in the early 1900s, but its popularity and usefulness during World War I allowed the structure to survive. Tourists can pay to access the tower’s three platforms.  To date, the tower has received more than 200,000,000 visitors since its construction and maintains the title of most visited paid monument in the world.