On this day in 1889, the construction of the  Eiffel Tower was finally completed. Designed and built by Gustave Eiffel, the construction of the tower began in 1887. It was built as the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair, which was held in Paris, France. The tower is truly magnificent, as it is 1,063 feet tall and 410 feet wide, making it the tallest structure in Paris and second tallest in all of France. However, at the time of its construction, the Eiffel Tower was the largest structure in the world. The tower was built with three separate levels for visitors to see from that you can reach via either stairs or lifts. From the ground to the first floor, it is 300 steps as well as from the first to the second floor. Each of the first two floors has restaurants that visitors can visit, and the third floor is just an observation deck. This observation deck is the tallest accessible to the public in the entire European Union at 906 feet tall. Thus helping to make it the most visited paid monument in the world.

 This magnificent structure was not always viewed as such though. As the planning of the tower began, it fell under much scrutiny, and most people never wanted it to be erected at all. It was objected as many thought it was not feasible to build. Many of these criticisms were due to a debate that had been going on for a while in France about the relationship between architecture and engineering. These objections were all put into a petition by famous artists around France called the “Artists against the Eiffel Tower” and sent to the Minister of Works and Commissioner of the Exposition. However, Eiffel fired back comparing his tower to the pyramids in Egypt, and was he ever right in the end. This petition never came to anything though since the tower had already began construction weeks prior.

However, after the construction of the tower, it was a hit. Most everyone loved the tower, and it was a vocal point of the World’s Fair. The tower is still an icon in France and around the world today. Senior Jadin Keeter said, “The tower itself is beautiful and so romantic.” Thousands of people visit France each year to see the tower.