Thursday, 31 March 2011

Happy Birthday - Eiffel Tower

Today in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was opened for the first time. The following day, it was opened for the second time and it has been opening daily ever since.

The Eiffel Tower - an instantly recognisable profile

It was the brain-child of Henri Eiffel and named after his brother Gustave Eiffel, the man who chose the colour scheme. It was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 40 years and is the equivalent of a 81 storey building at 324m tall. It is continuously being painted, much like the Forth Railway Bridge, and takes 14 million litres of paint to cover top to tail. Workmen occupy the structure 24 hours a day in order to complete the task.

Workmen painting nearly 300m above the River Seine

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