The following is an encore presentation of Everything Everywhere Daily.

This week I'm going to be publishing some of my favorite episodes from 2021,

and I will be back again with brand new episodes on Monday, January 3rd, 2022.

In 1889, a new exhibit was constructed for the Paris World's Fair,

and it completely dominated the Paris skyline. Many people considered it an eyesore

and architectural abomination. The only redeeming thing about it in their mind was the fact

that it was only supposed to be temporary and eventually was going to be torn down.

But it never was and today it's become the iconic symbol of the city.

Learn more about the Eiffel Tower on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. In 1989, the city of Paris was preparing for a big celebration. It was the 100 year anniversary of the French Revolution

and the city of Paris was going to put on a big party. Called the 1889

Exposition Universal, the event was eventually going to attract 32 million visitors.

The exposition organizers wanted a signature centerpiece for the fair, so in 1884 they asked

for proposals from noted architectural firms.

The proposal which eventually became the Eiffel Tower

came from the architectural firm of one Gustav Eiffel.

Eiffel had developed quite a reputation by the 1880s.

He had become a master of projects using iron, which had defined the age that he lived in.

He designed several buildings for the 1878 Paris World's Fair,

several iron bridges, as well as the internal iron framework for the Statue of Liberty.

The proposal for the 1889 Fair actually didn't originate from Eiffel himself.

It came from two of his engineers. The idea for the structure came from a tower that was built for the 1853 World's Fair in New York. The tower was called the Ladding Observatory. It was 315 feet or 96 meters tall and made of wood with iron bracings.

The tower for the 1889 fair was envisioned to be the world's first 300 meter structure.

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