The Eiffel Tower was the world’s tallest man-made structure when it opened in 1889.
Built for the Exposition Universelle celebrating the centenary of the French Revolution, the tower reached about 300 metres at its original height. Gustave Eiffel’s company designed and constructed the wrought-iron landmark in just over two years, using more than 18,000 individual iron parts.
The structure opened to visitors on 31 March 1889, ahead of the exposition’s public opening in May. It surpassed the Washington Monument as the tallest man-made structure and held that distinction until New York’s Chrysler Building exceeded it in 1930.
Many artists initially criticized the tower’s appearance, and it was intended to be temporary. Its usefulness as a radio and telecommunications structure helped preserve it, and it later became one of the world’s best-known symbols of Paris.