User blog:ARTaylor/130 Years of the Eiffel Tower

Today marks the one-hundred thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The structure is a wrought-iron lattice tower named after the engineer who designed and built it. It is three-hundred twenty-four meters tall, or one-thousand sixty-three feet, being the equivalent of a eighty-one storey building. It contains two restaurants as well as the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union.

The tower was built in time for the 1889 World's Fair. At the time it surpassed the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. to become the tallest man-made structure in the world. It held the title for forty-one years until the construction of the Chrysler Building in New York City, though a later addition it would once again top the Chrysler Building. It remains the second tallest free-standing structure in France.

During its construction it was heavily criticized for its design. Eventually, it became a global cultural icon and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. It is the most-visited paid monument in the world.