Why was the Eiffel Tower built?

Most of us have heard of Eiffel Tower, which is the most famous monument in Paris. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, after whom the Eiffel Tower has been named, was a famous 19th century bridge engineer. In 1889, the French government organised an international trade exhibition to commemorate the French Revolution. The exhibition was called the ‘centennial exposition’. Gustave Eiffel was asked to design and construct a symbolic tower of iron and steel. The result was the Eiffel Tower. It is about 322 metres (1,060 feet) in height with its T.V. transmission aerial on top. For many years, it was the tallest structure on Earth. The Eiffel Tower remains one of the most celebrated of all landmarks and symbolises Paris just as the Taj Mahal symbolises Agra. There are several floors of the Eiffel Tower. On the first floor is a restaurant. The view from the top floor is breathtaking. The tower was constructed in a record time of just two years, two months and two days and was completed on March 31, 1889. It was built with a small labour force, making use of the advanced technology based on the behaviour of the metal arch and metal truss underloading. The structure ushered in a revolution in civil engineering and architectural design. The Tower’s base occupies two acres of land and has four semicircular arches. It has elevators for moving up and down. There are a total of 1,792 steps in the tower. Its weight is 7,000 tonnes. From the top one can get a bird’s eye-view of up to 75 kilometres.