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　　Eiffel Tower comes to a point three hundred meters above the Avenue Gustave Eiffel on the river Seine. The tower’s architect, Gustave Eiffel, who also built the Statue of Liberty’s internal frame, beat out a field of seven hundred contenders for the right to build his design.

　　The tower was erected for the 1889 International Exhibition commemorating1 the centenary of the French Revolution. Now, a century later, though it has lost its status as the world’s tallest building, it has become the preeminent2 visual icon of the city of Paris. Paris without its Eiffel Tower would be like Egypt without its pyramids: virtually inconceivable to the modern mind.

　　This was not always the case. In its early years, the tower had its share of detractors3. Eiffel felt compelled to advocate his brainchild’s4 usefulness by extolling its suitability as a site for meteorological instruments and radio antennas. The tower’s stark geometric styling, a showcase of late Victorian structural expressionism, offended Parisian artistic sensibilities.

　　In contrast, the Paris of today dotes on its tower. It is no wonder, as the structure now receives upwards of 6 million visitors a year. The city keeps a good face on its seven thousand-ton sweetheart by giving it a makeover with fifty tons of brown paint every seven years. The tower is equipped with over twenty thousand light bulbs, adding to Paris’reputation as the“City of Lights.”