Eiffel Tower
The tower made large-scale metal construction visible as a new form of urban monumentality. It became an internationally recognisable symbol of Paris and of nineteenth-century world’s fair culture.
Photo: Benh LIEU SONG · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Facts
- Place
- Paris, France
- Civilisation / patron
- French Third Republic and Gustave Eiffel’s company
- Built
- 1887 – 1889
- Status
- Still standing
- Height
- 330 m
- UNESCO World Heritage since
- 1991
- UNESCO World Heritage
History
The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World’s Fair as an open-lattice wrought-iron structure. Four splayed legs meet in a high tower with visitor platforms and antennas added later. Originally controversial and intended as a temporary structure, it was retained partly because of its use for radio communications. Its present total height of 330 metres includes the antenna extension of 2022; the monument lies within the World Heritage property ‘Paris, Banks of the Seine’.
More from: Modern era
Sources: Wikipedia — Eiffeltoren · UNESCO — Parijs, oevers van de Seine