The Eiffel Tower – Paris

Hi Folks!

It’s hard to beat a picnic underneath the Eiffel Tower (or almost anywhere in Paris to tell the truth). The tower is an iconic tourist spot and quite astonishing. Washington Monument held the title of tallest structure in the world until the Eiffel Tower was erected and thereafter the Eiffel Tower held the title proudly with its peak in 324 meters from 1889 to 1930.

The Americans just could not stand the situation and so the Chrysler Building was built in New York. The height of the Chrysler Building was only 320 meters but a 38 meters long spire with a steel needle was added to the top to claim the title back to USA. Some of you may question whether the Americans could actually be that petty, but look it up yourself. Walter P Chrysler admitted in his autobiography that the needle was added only to increase the height of the Chrysler Building just enough to claim the title of the worlds’ tallest man-made structure.

But who cares which structure is the tallest. It’s the looks that matter in the end. I have not seen any replicas of the Chrysler Building. But the Eiffel Tower has inspired the creation of probably over 20 replicas, many of them also in USA. One of the most known replica is probably in Las Vegas. I’ve heard that the Eiffel Tower is actually a replica too and that the design was copied from the tower located in Lyon. I will have to get to the bottom of the matter and head directly to Lyon. Could it possible that the landmark of Paris is nothing but a knockoff of the original in Lyon.

– Gart