by Andrew Cai

Created on: November 26, 2009

France wanted to show the world that they were a country of beauty and technology. With the World Exhibition of 1889 also under way, France decided that they would construct a beautiful tower. There was a contest for ideas on such a tower and Gustave Eiffel's design stood out from the rest. Not everyone agreed though and a petition of 300 names was collected to stop the Eiffel Tower. Nonetheless, construction began in 1887 as each of the 18,000 pieces were accurately calculated and made. During the entire construction period, only a single man died. This was since Eiffel was very strict on safety. Months went by as the tower continued to rise elegantly into the French sky, getting bigger and taller by each passing day. By 1889, the 1,063 foot tower was completed, just in time for the World Exhibition.

The permit to keep the tower up was supposed to only have lasted 20 years after the World Exhibition and by 1909; the demolition of the tower had finally arrived. However, the tower was extremely useful as a radio tower since it had a radio antenna and was used for telegraphy at the time so the city of France allowed the tower to remain standing. After the tower played an important role in the capture of an infamous spy in World War I, the tower became the symbol for France and all thoughts of demolishing the structure were gone.

However, the Eiffel tower has a history of hope and sorrow too. Before, during the construction of the tower, critics throughout France complained that the tower was an eyesore and nature lovers complained that birds would be disrupted. But by World War II, national pride in the Eiffel tower was so great that when the Nazis occupied France in 1940, Frenchmen cut the cables so that Hitler would have to walk up the tower instead of using the elevator. Repairs could never be made due to the war so the Germans had to haul up the swastika to the top of the tower. But, the French put their flag on the tower instead, bolstering French national pride. It was said later that Hitler conquered France, but never conquered the Eiffel tower. When the Allies drew close in 1944, the order to demolish the tower was disobeyed and Hitler was persuaded since the tower could be used as a radio broadcast tower.

The grace of the Eiffel Tower and the symbol it holds still stands true to the French today. It was a symbol of hope, a symbol of strength, and a symbol of national pride.

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