Locally nicknamed “La dame de fer” (French for “Iron Lady”), the Eiffel Tower is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. It was constructed as the centerpiece of the 1889 World’s Fair, and to crown the centennial anniversary of the French Revolution.
Although initially criticized by some of France’s leading artists and intellectuals for its design, it has since become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. It was designated a monument historique in 1964, and was named part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site (“Paris, Banks of the Seine”) in 1991.
The tower is 330 meters (1,083 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building, and the tallest structure in Paris. Its base is square, measuring 125 meters (410 ft) on each side. It was the first structure in the world to surpass both the 200-metre and 300-metre mark in height. Excluding transmitters, the Eiffel Tower is the second tallest free-standing structure in France after the Millau Viaduct.
Here below is a wonderful photo collection from Floyd A. Hyatt that shows Eiffel Tower and surrounding areas taken from the tower in October 1955.
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