The world had never seen anything like the graceful iron form that rose from Paris? Champ de Mars in the late 1880s. The ?Eiffel Tower,? built as a temporary installation for the Exposition Universelle de 1889, became an immediate sensation for its unprecedented appearance and extraordinary height. It has long outlasted its intended lifespan and become not only one of Paris? most popular landmarks, but one of the most recognizable structures in human history.

© Wikimedia user Jebulon (Public Domain)

The world had never seen anything like the graceful iron form that rose from Paris? Champ de Mars in the late 1880s. The ?Eiffel Tower,? built as a temporary installation for the Exposition Universelle de 1889, became an immediate sensation for its unprecedented appearance and extraordinary height. It has long outlasted its intended lifespan and become not only one of Paris? most popular landmarks, but one of the most recognizable structures in human history.
© Jean-Pierre Dalbéra (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

In 1884, the French government announced the planning of an international exposition to honor the hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution of 1789 ? the fourteenth such fair to be held in France since the close of the 18th Century. Shortly afterward, the French civil engineer Gustave Eiffel proposed the construction of an iron tower 300 meters (984 feet) tall as a ceremo...