Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower, wrought-iron tower in Paris, a city landmark, and an early example of wrought-iron construction on a gigantic scale. It was designed and built by the French civil engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel for the Paris World's Fair of 1889 at a cost of 7.8 million gold francs. The tower, without its modern broadcasting antennae, is 300 m (984 ft) high, and at the time of its completion was the tallest structure in the world.

The tower’s lower section consists of four immense arched legs set on masonry piers. As they extend upwards, the legs curve inwards until they unite in a single tapered tower. Platforms, each with an observation deck, are located at three levels—the first is 57.6 m (189 ft) above the ground, the second is 115.7 m (380 ft) up the tower, and the third, which is only accessible via a lift, is at a height of 276 m (906 ft). Visitors can dine in restaurants on the first two levels. The tower, constructed from about 6,300 tonnes of iron, includes more than 18,000 pieces held together by 2.5 million rivets. Its open framework allows it to withstand strong winds. The first floor to the top is repainted every five years, and the whole tower is repainted every ten years—a task that takes more than a year to complete. A meteorological station, a radio communications station, and a television transmission antenna, as well as a suite of rooms that were used by Eiffel, are located near the top of the tower.