The true story of the Eiffel Tower

©DR
The Eiffel Tower is celebrating this year its 120th anniversary. InnerFrance offers you its true story. Everyone knows the 300 meters marvel that dominates the Paris skyline, but what do we really know about it ? For example, contrary to popular belief, did you know that it wasn’t actually the engineer Gustave Eiffel who drew the plans ? Did you know that the leading artistic figures at the time were fervently opposed to the construction, comparing it to a ‘factory chimney’ (Maupassant), a ‘tragic street lamp’ (Léon Bloy), a ‘steeple skeleton’ (Paul Verlaine), or even ‘a suppository riddled with holes’ (Huysmans) ? Did you know that the tower should have been demolished after 20 years, that its colour wasn’t always the bronze that we admire today and that it has served as a giant billboard and a scientific laboratory ?