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Everyone knows the Eiffel Tower is in Paris, France; or is it? Yes, it is, however, did you know the United States has an exact scale reproduction? We sure do!

From the rivets, to the glass elevator that takes you above Las Vegas where you can see the sights from 460 feet up.

This duplicate Eiffel Tower is located in Paris Las Vegas and is part of the Paris Las Vegas experience operated by Harrah's. Visitors can dine in the restaurant on the 11th floor of this tower.

The original Eiffel Tower is on the Champ de Mars next to the River Seine in Paris. It is one of the most identifiable shapes in the world. Its name is derived from the gentleman who designed it, Gustave Eiffel.

Taking three years for construction, the original purpose of the Eiffel Tower was as an entrance arch for the World's Fair celebrating 100 years of the French Revolution.

Due to temperature changes in the structure, it may move away from the sun by up to 7 inches and sway between 2 to 3 inches in the wind.

One of the most difficult feats of the construction was the joining of the four legs at the first floor. Even though the tower was constructed open, there are no walls and no floors, due to Eiffel's attention to safety, only one person lost their life in the construction of this mammoth tower.

By using the tower as an antenna, the Paris Observatory was able to connect with the United States Naval Observatory in the United States.

With over 2.5 million rivets and weighing over 7,000 tons (steel weight only, the weight rises to over 10,000 tons if the foundation is considered), the Eiffel Tower was met with those who considered the designer foolish in his artistic design, yet he knew the structure must be able to withstand the force of the winds and took that into account in his designing of the structure.

The structure has stood for over 119 years in silent testimony of Mr. Eiffel's engineering capabilities. It took over 18,038 pieces of iron plus the rivets to complete the building.

As the tallest structure in Paris, it is still not in the top 10 in height of the tallest towers in the world. At over 985 feet tall, it is shorter than the 10th tallest tower by approximately 300 feet, that tower being the Kiev TV Tower in the Ukraine at 1,263 feet and built in 1974.

Rarely, the tower lighting is changed (there are only 6 color schemes in its history that have been used to illuminate the tower at night.) The current lighting scheme has been used for more than a decade.

Through the years, several components in the structure have required reinforcing from various types of damage.

People who have seen photos and have heard of the tower far outnumber the more than quarter of a million people who have actually visited the tower since it opened.

The Eiffel Tower is an instantly recognizable symbol of Paris, France. Surviving 119 years, it is a standing testimony of human building ingenuity.

Learn more about this author, B. L. Babb.
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