In honor of the last day of my Eiffel Tower necklace give away, I pay homage to this fabulous landmark, originally constructed for the 1889 Exposition in Paris. Despite the fact that all of its metal could be melted down to fit a 125-meter-square base less than 2.5 inches high, it took two years to build.
I’m especially thrilled that someone had the smarts, and we had the technology, to photograph the construction process. All these images come from Wikimedia Commons and are in the Public Domain. Click on an image to enlarge and scroll through the gallery. Enjoy!
A few more Eiffel facts:
~ Thomas Edison visited it in 1889.
~ Radio transmitters were fitted in WWI to jam German communications.
~ There used to be a pâtisserie on the second level.
~ Gustave Eiffel entertained in an apartment on the third level.
~ 72 names are engraved on the tower–all French notable people.
~ It’s painted every seven years with up to 60 tonnes of paint.
~ When it opened, the lifts weren’t operable.
~ It took visitors and hour by stairs to ascend the tower.
~ The original spiral stairs were removed in the 1980s.
Korbella is helping me give away an Eiffel Tower necklace made from that spiral staircase to one lucky reader. Korbella’s Charmes de Paris necklace has a retail value of $525. This sterling silver necklace is hand-finished, with a heart-shaped Swarovski CZ drop, a charm in the shape of Paris’ famous landmark. Enter before midnight tonight, February 8th.
2 Comments on Constructing the Eiffel Tower
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Only an hour to climb up the steps? You’d think the corsets and ruffled skirts would’ve slowed them down a bit. Our turn of the century counterparts were in good shape 🙂
Yes, and we got winded climbing two flights of stairs in under 30 seconds last weekend. An hour, and I’d pass out.