The Eiffel Tower in Paris was built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle.
Engineer Gustave Eiffel’s company designed and constructed the tower as the entrance centerpiece for an international exhibition celebrating the centennial of the French Revolution. The wrought-iron structure rose to 300 metres at completion, making it the world’s tallest man-made structure at the time. Its height later increased with antennas.
Construction began in 1887 and was completed in 1889. More than 18,000 individual iron parts were assembled with millions of rivets. Many artists and intellectuals initially criticized the design, but the tower became popular with visitors and was preserved after the exhibition rather than dismantled.
The Eiffel Tower’s usefulness helped secure its future. It served as a platform for scientific experiments and later became important for radio communication. During World War I, its wireless station helped intercept enemy messages. Today it is one of France’s most visited landmarks and a defining symbol of Paris, even though it was originally intended as a temporary exhibition structure.