Eiffel Tower Historical Timeline

In Paris, France, the Eiffel Tower was constructed by Alexander-Gustave Eiffel in commemoration of the French Revolution and completed in 1889 at the cost of 1.5 million dollars. The design beat out 700 others competing for the opportunity, and the structure was completed in just 21 months. At 986 feet, it was the tallest building in the known world after being unveiled at the Paris World's Fair. This open-latticed, brown wrought iron structure has since become one of the world's major tourist attractions, even though dozens of buildings have now surpassed it in height.

Originally viewed as unattractive, the tower's first year of tourist sales for its 'new-fangled' elevator rides brought almost enough revenue to pay the building cost. (It is estimated that total visitors since opening numbers around 200 million.) In 1909, the Eiffel Tower was slated to be torn down, but because its radio antennae were considered essential, it was reprieved. At that time, the antenna was used for telegraphy, but today several antennae atop the tower are used for French television stations.