A short story of the "Iron" Lady

The Eiffel Tower

By Josse & John

The Eiffel Tower, or " Iron Lady " is an iron tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, along the river Seine .

The engineer, Gustave Eiffel gave his name to his creation " The Eiffel Tower". Gustave Eiffel designed and built the tower. The construction started in 1887 and was completed on 31 March 1889. It is the most recognizable structure in the world, and the most visited in the world (7.1 million people visited it in 2011), the tower has three levels for visitors, the third level platform is 278 metres high, the highest accessible level to the public in the European Union. Altogether, the Eiffel Tower stands 323 metres high.

The Iron Lady weighs 10,100 tonnes and has 1,705 stairs. The Iron Lady is repainted every 7 years with 52 tonnes of paint. On the 2nd level, there is a very famous restaurant named the Jules Verne. You have to book well in advance to be able to eat there. The 2nd level can withstand 1.600 people.

At the top of the tower, you can find the TV and radio antennas that help Paris and its suburbs have access to all kinds of channels.

My friend John and I visited the Eiffel Tower just once, and I was on the 2nd level. Around the Eiffel Tower, there are many shops, that sell T-Shirts, Keyrings, sweaters about the " Iron Lady ", etc ...

It is very impressive and very symbolic of France.

The Engineer, Gustave Eiffel, was born on 15 December 1832 and he died in December 1923, when he was 91 years old. He is the engineer of the Eiffel Tower and also helped build the statue of liberty when he was 26. When no one could find a way to have the Liberty Lady Rise on its feet, Gustave Eiffel said : “It will stand!” And it still does today, doesn’t it, in spite of the storms and all.

There are 5 movies about the Eiffel Tower and Gustave Eiffel.

When the Eiffel Tower was being built for the 1889 Universal Exhibition (that celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the French revolution), it was supposed to last only 20 years. Every one complained : “This structure will never stand, or never more than for 30 years, it's useless and ugly”. Well, obviously, it still stands too, and isn’t so ugly. Indeed, it was an immediate success right after it was open to the public.

Gustave Eiffel is one of the most popular engineers in the world.

By Josse and John, 2.6