Impact of the Eiffel Tower on Society

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Built in 1889 to commemorate the hundred year anniversary of the French Revolution, the Eiffel Tower has been a topic of discussion for numerous years. Designed by Gustave Eiffel and Morris Koechlin, the Tower was built originally as a temporary structure. The pieces of this eye-catching building were to be disassembled and melted down after twenty years. This did not happen, however. The Eiffel Tower has become a colossal icon throughout the world; the Tower has brought in enormous revenue and has a scientific impact on French and all of Europe’s society.
The Eiffel Tower has become associated with Paris; a symbol. It is an icon for France, travel and romance, among others. What made this Tower vastly popular is the cause of copious reasons. The most prominent reason is that it was a major point of controversy between Gustave Eiffel and the artists of Paris. Parisians opposed the construction of this atrocity. In a manifesto signed in 1887, two years before the Tower was built, artists of Paris claimed that the beauty of Paris will be debased by the repulsiveness of the edifice. They stated that artists from around the world would have the right to openly mock Paris. They opposed it remarkably so, that, quoting from the signed proposal, they insisted for twenty years “we will see stretching out over the entire city, still quivering with genius from so many centuries, we will see stretching out like a growing ink spot, the hateful shadow of the hateful column of bolted iron”. Gustave Eiffel responds eloquently with the promise that the building is stable and that there is a certain attraction to structures as immense as the Eiffel Tower. He compares his design to the pyramids in Egypt. His comparison is that if the pyra...

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...survived public lashings and invasions since its erection in 1889. Even though some thought it would detract from the gloriousness of Paris, it brought in millions upon millions of people from every nation who had the desire to see the breath taking monument that is the Eiffel Tower. Thousands, if not millions, spend their lives dreaming and wishing they can one day visit the Tower, jars are labeled ‘Eiffel Tower Fund’ and spend years filling up. The Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris, has brought delight and bliss to many with its income and the addition to science around the world.

Works Cited

Richards, C.B. Reports of the United States Commissioners to the Universal Exposition. Google eBook: U.S. Government Printing Office: 1891.

“Tourism in Paris-Key Figures”. 12 June 2013.
“Eiffel Tower”. History Channel.
“All you need to know about the Eiffel Tower”. PDF.

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