Eiffel Tower History Facts

Get ready for some Eiffel Tower history facts which will fascinate you almost as much as the height and structure of the Eiffel Tower itself!

• The Eiffel Tower stands 1,063 feet tall, is the tallest structure in Paris, and its summit can be seen from anywhere in the city
• Built in 1889, it was the tallest structure in the world until 1930 when that title went to the Chrysler Building
• The Eiffel Tower was designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, an architectural engineer who was born December 15, 1832
• Gustave Eiffel's engineering and designing assistants on the tower were Maurice Koechlin, Emile Nouguier, and Stephen Sauvestre
• The Eiffel tower is made from 18,038 pieces of iron fitted together with three million rivets
• Gustave Eiffel, also known as "the Iron Magician," was also the mastermind behind the Statue of Liberty
• The Eiffel Tower has been named one of the Seven Wonders of the World
• The Eiffel Tower's address is: Parc du Champ de Mars; 5 Avenue Anatole France; 75007 Paris, France

Here are some little-known Eiffel Tower history facts which may surprise you!

Photo by: Lupo

• Gustav Eiffel initially wanted to build the Eiffel Tower for the 1888 Universal Exposition in Barcelona, Spain
• When the Barcelona City Hall rejected his proposal, Gustav brought his plans to France, where the Eiffel Tower design was submitted to the council of the 1889 Paris Exhibition, celebrating 100 years since the French Revolution
• In its early years, the Eiffel Tower was doomed for destruction; its opponents, who claimed it did not jive with traditional French culture, wanted to tear the structure down and sell it as scrap metal
• The Eiffel Tower was ultimately spared when it was discovered that the summit could be used for radio communications
• Over the years, scores of scientific and weather-related experiments have been conducted atop the tower, which until this day serves as a radio transmission tower, weather station, navigation point, and observation deck

Now get ready to be entertained with the following miscellaneous Eiffel Tower history facts!

• It took two years, two months, and five days to build the Eiffel Tower
• The tower is comprised of three levels; you can climb 347 steps to the first level or take a lift; you can climb 674 steps between the first and second levels or take a lift; the third level (the summit) is accessible only by lift
• The Eiffel Tower is repainted every seven years using approximately 70 tons of paint
• Two restaurants, Le 58 tour Eiffel and Le Jules Verne, are located inside the tower
• The observation platform, from which you can gaze a distance of 42 miles on a clear day, holds 800 visitors at a time
• The Eiffel Tower is open daily and year-round to the public
• Le Tour Eiffel is lit up at night by thousands of flashbulbs, earning the City of Paris its reputation as the City of Lights
• At night, flashbulbs go off every hour on the hour for about five minutes each time, making the tower dazzle and shine like a diamond

The list of fascinating Eiffel Tower history facts goes on and on! If you are interested in learning more, take a trip to your local library or do a search on your computer for the term Eiffel Towe - you should have plenty of material to keep you busy for hours!