The Eiffel Tower

Gustave Eiffel, the designer and namesake of the Eiffel Tower, was born on December 15, 1832. Eiffel initially wanted to build his famous tower in Barcelona, but it was ultimately constructed in Paris for the Exposition Universelle of 1889. The buildings from that world’s fair, including the Eiffel Tower, are shown in this image. After the exposition, there were plans to demolish the structure, but it was found to make an excellent tower for radio equipment. Because of this, the now-iconic structure was saved.

Image: “Paris, World’s Fair (1889): plan” (date unknown). From the Andrew J. Bramlett Collection.