Rising above the left bank of the River Seine, the Eiffel Tower is both a product of late‑19th‑century engineering daring and a symbol of modern Paris.

### Conception and Construction (1886 – 1889)

* **Origins:** Paris needed a spectacular centerpiece for the 1889 *Exposition Universelle*, held to mark the centennial of the French Revolution. The government announced an open competition for a 300‑meter iron tower to be erected on the Champ‑de‑Mars, the broad field that slopes gently toward the Seine.
* **Gustave Eiffel’s design:** Engineer Gustave Eiffel and collaborators Maurice Koechlin, Émile Nouguier (structural), and architect Stephen Sauvestre submitted the winning proposal. Their plan combined wrought‑iron lattices—light yet incredibly strong—curving inwards to reduce wind loads while framing dramatic views of the nearby river.
* **Building the giant:** Foundations were sunk in January 1887 only a few dozen meters from the Seine’s embankment. Prefabricated iron pieces—18,038 of them—were riveted together like an enormous Meccano set. Two years, two months, and five days later, on 31 March 1889, Eiffel ascended the tower’s top to plant the French flag.

### Early Reputation and Uses (1889 – 1914)

* **Mixed reception:** Many artists and writers decried it as a “metal asparagus,” but fairgoers loved the panoramic view over Paris and its sinuous river. In its first year the tower drew almost two million visitors, proving its commercial worth.
* **Scientific platform:** Eiffel championed practical uses to prevent demolition after the exposition’s 20‑year lease. Meteorological and aerodynamic experiments began almost immediately; by 1903 the tower hosted one of the world’s first public radio transmitters, exploiting its height above the Seine basin for clear signals.

### World Wars and Modernization (1914 – 1960s)

* **Strategic mast:** During World War I, wireless equipment on the tower jammed German communications and relayed orders to the front.
* **Aviation beacon:** Between the wars the tower’s red‑and‑white rotating beacon became a nighttime guide for pilots following the Seine corridor into Paris.
* **Post‑war renewal:** In 1957 a 24‑meter television antenna lifted the structure’s total height to 324 m (1,063 ft). The elevators—originally hydraulic and powered by water pumped from the Seine—were gradually electrified and modernized.

### The Late‑20th Century to Today

* **Preservation efforts:** Extensive repainting (every seven years) guards against corrosion from the river’s humid breezes. Major refurbishments for the tower’s centenary (1989) and the millennium improved visitor flow, while a 2013 glass‑floor section on the first level lets guests look straight down to the esplanade bordering the Seine.
* **Cultural icon:** Featured in countless films and illuminated nightly, the Eiffel Tower now hosts about seven million visitors each year. Its silhouette—mirrored in the Seine below—remains shorthand worldwide for Parisian elegance and French technological flair.

### Quick Facts

| Key Date | Milestone                                                             |
| -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1889     | Official opening for the Exposition Universelle                       |
| 1909     | City of Paris decides to keep the tower (radio value)                 |
| 1914     | First military radio interception from the tower                      |
| 1957     | TV antenna installed; height becomes 324 m                            |
| 1986‑87  | Elevators and lighting overhauled                                     |
| 2024     | Latest repaint begins, still using the signature “Eiffel Tower brown” |

From its footings at the Seine’s edge to the beacon that still sweeps the Paris sky, the Eiffel Tower embodies the industrial age’s optimism and the enduring romance of the river that flows beside it.
