Today the Eiffel Tower turns 120. Paris’s iconic Eiffel Tower will celebrate its 120th birthday and, as a present, will receive a brand-new coat of paint.
The job will take over a year and will involve the labor of 25 painters applying over sixty tons of paint at a cost of 170 million euros.
This won’t be the first makeover. Designed by Gustave Eiffel and built for the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889 to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution, the tower has had seventeen cosmetic updates since its birth, changing color several times, from brown-red to yellow to bronze.
Quoted in France’s daily Le Figaro, one of the painters chosen for the project spoke of his love for the job. “Once you’re up there, you forget the ground, your worries, the dangers, everything stays behind,” said Aderito Dos Santos Baptista.
There have never been any fatalities from the painting of the Eiffel Tower although there have been some injuries.
The first-floor restaurant, renamed ’58 Tour Eiffel’, will also be inaugurated after a complete make-over.
At 300 meters tall (324 meters with antennae) and weighing 7,000 tons, the Eiffel Tower was the world’s tallest building until 1930. There are 1665 steps to the top. One of the most visited sites in the world, the tower can boast a new record with nearly seven million visitors in 2008. Come visit the Eiffel Tower to say Happy Birthday.
If the Eiffel Tower was controversial at the time of its inception, it is now completely accepted and is one of several symbols of Paris’s beauty. Much like IM Pei’s pyramid entrance the Louvre, the French resisted the change, but now most agree upon its merits.
Happy Birthday Eiffel Tower.
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[...] Owen placed an interesting blog post on Happy Birthday Eiffel Tower | France TalesHere’s a brief overviewAt 300 meters tall (324 meters with antennae) and weighing 7000 tons, the Eiffel Tower was the world’s tallest building until 1930. There are 1665 steps to the top. One of the most visited sites in the world, the tower can boast a new … [...]
[...] BOLLYWOOD HOT GOSSIPS placed an observative post today on Happy Birthday Eiffel TowerHere’s a quick excerptAt 300 meters tall (324 meters with antennae) and weighing 7,000 tons, the Eiffel Tower was the world’s tallest building until 1930. There… [...]
[...] Owen added an interesting post today on Happy Birthday Eiffel Tower | France TalesHere’s a small readingHappy Birthday Eiffel Tower. See pictures of the new plans to celebrate the birthday of the Eiffel Tower. [...]
Bon anniversaire, monsieur Owen.
What’s that strange new thing on top of the tower? Looks like a hat…! It wasn’t there when I last visited in June 2008 (http://picasaweb.google.com/Naryves/NaryvesDayOfFunInParisJune2008#5224012524784171714)
Those photos and plans were from April 1, 2009. I didn’t realize it until after I posted it. I think it is an April Fools joke, poisson d’Avril. Maybe not, but no one has been able to confirm one way or the other. It doesn’t currently look like this, but are these really the plans for it?
How bizarre (but then how French!) to post a tribute to the Eiffel Tower using fanciful photographs & drawings that barely relate to it, and then make no mention of that in the accompanying article.
Hello there, Happy Fool’s Day!
A State Trooper pulls a car over on a lonely back road and approaches the blonde lady driver.
“Mam, is there a reason that you’re weaving all over the road?”
The woman replied, “Oh officer, thank goodness you’re here!! I almost had an accident! I looked up and there was a tree right in front of me. I swerved to the left and there was another tree in front of me. I swerved to the right and there was another tree in front of me!”
Reaching through the side window to the rear view mirror, the officer replied, “Ma’am… that’s your air freshener.”
Happy April Fool’s Day!
Hello there, nice joke, you sound like someone I know. I know 3 people that still tell really silly blond jokes, hmmmmm. I never heard another word about this and since I have been to Paris since, I know it is not true, but the design drawings were quite impressive.