Opening of the Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower officially opened to the public on March 31, 1889. Constructed of 7,000 tons of iron and steel, the 984-foot structure was designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel for the Paris Exhibition of 1889, commemorating the centennial of the French Revolution. The price for the Eiffel Tower was more than $1 million, but fees for the year 1889 alone nearly recouped the cost. Fifty-five years later, plans by Hitler to leave the tower and much of Paris a smoking ruin were foiled by an unlikely hero, Dietrich von Choltitz.
Image: Library of Congress
