On this day in history: Eiffel Tower opens
On March 31, 1889, the Eiffel Tower was opened in Paris in a ceremony presided over by civil engineer and architect Gustave Eiffel.
The ceremony was attended by French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard, a handful of other dignitaries as well as 200 construction workers.
The tower was built to honour the centenary of the French Revolution. The French government planned an international exposition and announced a design competition for a monument to be built on the Champ-de-Mars in central Paris. Out of more than 100 designs submitted, the Centennial Committee chose Eiffel’s plan of an open-lattice wrought-iron tower that would reach almost 1,000 feet above Paris and be the world’s tallest man-made structure.
Eiffel, a noted bridge builder, was a master of metal construction and designed the framework of the Statue of Liberty that had recently been erected in New York Harbour.
The building was a site of contention and many criticised it as structurally unsound and others thought it was an eyesore in the heart of Paris.
Eiffel completed his great tower under budget in just two years with only one casualty. The Eiffel Tower remains an iconic symbol of Paris today.
