I took a photo of the Eiffel Tower and gave it an old-time feel.
When I walk by it, I imagine it like this, back in its heyday (still in its heyday) with a gigantic Ferris wheel beside it.
When it comes to the Eiffel Tower it makes Andy Warhol's 15 Minutes of Fame true to most the fleeting moments of today but not when it comes to the Eiffel Tower. When one thinks of the modern day hoopla given by the internet the Eiffel Tower is and has remained iconic, beautiful, and everlasting.
Ah the things that continue to amaze, inspire and create awe.
It’s the birthday of civil engineer Gustave Eiffel, born in Dijon, France (1832). He was an early pioneer in using metal to construct bridges. In 1879, he was tapped to replace the chief engineer for the Statue of Liberty. Eiffel designed the skeleton that supported the Statue of Liberty’s copper skin. He and his crew built the entire thing in France to test its structural integrity, then dismantled it again, sending it on its way to its permanent home in New York Harbor.
He went on to build the Eiffel Tower for the World’s Fair in Paris in 1889. At 1,000 feet, it was the tallest structure in the world at the time, and Eiffel decided to leave the metal scaffolding exposed because he thought the tower would be more stable if the wind could blow through it. Many people at the time thought it was ugly, but it still holds up to the wind. In 1999, Paris was hit by a windstorm that knocked down more than 100,000 trees. The Eiffel Tower only swayed nine centimeters. Not only is it stable, but it is also remarkably efficient in terms of materials; if melted down, the metal structure of the tower would only fill its base to a depth of two inches. Eiffel gave his name to the famous landmark, but it was his work on the tower itself that gave him his nickname: “the magician of iron.”
Thank you Jackie for sending the article to me. (Blissfarmantiques on Instagram.)
Have you ever looked up the Eiffel Tower on Google Earth? You can see it at every angle.
Have you seen the movie that came out this year about Mr. G. Eiffel?
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