From 1887-89, something began to grow in central Paris. It was a giant metal structure that was built for the 1889 Paris World Fair, that towered over the skyline just in time to celebrate 100 years since the revolution.
And the critics...well...they hated it. In 1887 there was even a petition against it -stating that-
"We, writers, painters, sculptors, architects and passionate devotees of the hitherto untouched beauty of Paris, protest with all our strength, with all our indignation in the name of slighted French taste, against the erection … of this useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower "
After all, this mess of a structure was not created by an artist but by a civil engineer. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel had actually made his name building various bridges and viaducts for the French railway network.
But there was some good news. This tower was a temporary structure that would be opened for just 20 years maximum. After that the citizens of Paris could get rid of this eye sore. However, in the intervening years, radio had become a vital form of communication and this giant tower in the middle of a built up urban area became a vital radio transmitter. Practical communication also coincided with people getting used to the tower and so by the time it was due to be torn down in 1909 people actually quite liked it.
Fast forwarding to it today, The Eiffel Tower is inextricably linked to France's capital and is the world's most visited paid for monument in the world.
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