Today in History

March 31, 1889

The Eiffel Tower is inaugurated

Along with the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid, there may be no more instantly recognizable man-made structure than the Eiffel Tower, inaugurated on this date in 1889. The grand tower was built for the Universal Exhibition held that year in celebration of the French Revolution.

The Architect was Stephen Sauvestre. The project was begun in 1884 with construction taking place from 1887 to 1889, a total of 2 years, 2 months and 5 days. The contractor was Gustave Eiffel. In all, 50 engineers and designers produced 5,300 "blueprints" for the construction. 100 ironworkers produced the 18,038 individual parts used in the assembly and 121 men constructed the tower. It is owned by the city of Paris.

The weight of the metal structure is 7,300 tons with the total weight topping out at 10,100 tons. Its height including the flagpole, is 324 meters. The Eiffel Tower is painted every seven years and received its 19th coat of paint in 2008.