Champs de Mars, Paris, France
(Roger Viollet / Getty)
The result of a competition to create a landmark building for the 1889 World’s Fair, at nearly 1,000 feet the Eiffel Tower immediately became the world’s tallest building. The structure was put together from more than 18,000 metal components, brought to the site in horse-drawn wagons and hoisted into place by cranes – both of which can be seen in this picture.
‘Venetian Red’ was the name of the original color of the tower, applied to the metalwork in the workshop before being assembled on-site. The tower has since been repainted over a dozen times in shades ranging from a reddish-brown to bronze.
‘It will be an observatory and a laboratory such as was never until now at the disposal of science; and from the first all our scientific men have encouraged me with their warmest sympathy.’
M. Eiffel, 1889
