The global and cultural icon of romance has grown a little taller.
The Eiffel Tower grew six metres (19.69 ft) on Tuesday after a new digital radio antenna was attached to the top.
The antenna was lifted onto the top by a helicopter.
Paris’s most iconic landmark, the Eiffel Tower, has been used for broadcast transmissions for nearly a century.
In fact, radio is often credited for the famous structure’s survival into the 21st century.
The Eiffel Tower was designed in the 19th century by Gustav Eiffel, who included a private apartment for himself at the top.
The Eiffel Tower is the most visited monument with an entrance fee in the world, with over 6 million visitors every year.
More than 250 million people have visited the tower since it was completed.
Two engineers from Gustav Eiffel’s company, Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, were also credited for their input into the project.
Between 150 and 200 men worked on the site.
All the elements were prepared in Eiffel’s factory located at Levallois-Perret on the outskirts of Paris.
Each of the 18,000 pieces used to construct the Tower were specifically designed and calculated, traced out to an accuracy of a tenth of a millimetre and then put together forming new pieces around five metres each.
The tower was assembled using wooden scaffolding and small steam cranes mounted onto the tower itself.
During its completion, one worker – an Italian – tragically died by falling from the first floor.
It was built for the 1889 World Exhibition to show off France’s industrial power marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution and was to be demolished 20 years later.
The Eiffel tower initially stood at 324 metres, but the added antenna now stands at 330 metres.
During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for four decades until the Chrysler Building in New York City was topped off in 1929.
It was built for the 1889 World Exhibition and was to be demolished 20 years later.
The sudden demand for a suitable platform from the newly emerging radio transmission technology saved the tower from demolition.
Although now a worldwide symbol of romance, the radical design of the Eiffel Tower inspired anything but love.
As 300 prominent Parisian artists and intellectuals signed a manifesto that ran in the Le Temps newspaper on Valentine’s Day in 1887 objecting to the monument because they didn’t believe it fit in with the city’s aesthetic.
The tower can grow more than 6 inches during the Summer because high temperatures make the iron expand due to thermal expansion.
The Eiffel tower swayed 13 cm during a storm in 1999, which blew at 240 kph.
According to the official website of the Eiffel Tower, “there are no restrictions on publishing a picture of the Tower by day. Photos taken at night, when the special lights are illuminated, are subjected to copyright, and fees for the right to publish must be paid to the SNTE“.
So, beware if you are using night-time photos of the Eiffel Tower.
The tower glitters for sive minutes from nightfall until 1.00 am, every hour on the hour.
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter.
