Eiffel Power
Towering over the winding streets of Paris stands a structure iconic and popular in equal parts — the Eiffel Tower. Each year, millions of visitors queue for the pleasure of experiencing this feat of architecture. But there was once a time when this Parisian pearl was hated by its native people.
Paris in popular culture has come to embody romance and refinement. The fact that its most revered monument was once completely loathed by French citizens offers an ironic paradox in the land of love. Created for the 1889 World Fair, the Eiffel Tower was initially built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. However, if a group of vocal protestors had their way, the construction would have been torn down immediately after festivities concluded.
“A diabolic undertaking of a boilermaker with delusions of grandeur!” proclaimed French author Guy de Maupassant upon first viewing of the tower. He was not in the minority with this opinion. Today the Eiffel Tower is a symbol of beauty in the heart of the City of Lights, but it was the subject of constant criticism when it was first unveiled. It was the city’s creative legion that took the greatest offence to a building they claimed would spread across the whole city “like a dark ink stain, the odious shadow of this odious column of bolted metal.”
The brainchild of Gustavo Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower stood as the tallest edifice in the world until the completion of the Chrysler Building in 1930. Due to its unprecedented height, workers had to use moveable cranes, elevators, and scaffolds to shift 200 builders and mounds of material across the Parisian skyline. While painters, poets and sculptors across the city petitioned for the immediate removal of the tower, Gustavo Eiffel remained in love with his creation, and luckily for him — the French government stood firm. Mr Eiffel’s stubborn resistance has proven to be ingenious, as France’s most hated building became the world’s most loved.
Its detractors believed the Eiffel Tower defiled the perfect perspective of the Champs de Mars. They later argued that its iron could be recycled into weaponry for World War I. Unpopularity remained unwavering, and it failed to attract many visitors. Mr Eiffel even lowered the entrance fee — a move which brought little success. It wasn’t until the rise of mass tourism in the 1960’s that the tower started to become the symbol we know it to be today, undetachable from the very fabric of Paris.
This modern-day French flagship stands as living proof of the inevitability of change. Nothing lasts forever, even strong and scornful hatred. If something as momentous as the Eiffel Tower was once the subject of total disdain, then unfavourable opinions today can surely switch tomorrow. In the fickle world around us today, we would do well to remember that. But if you do believe strongly about anything, do not worry about swaying your position with the wind. Guy de Maupassant’s utter contempt for Paris’ centrepiece remained until his death. In response to a question on why he often lunched at the Eiffel tower, he remarked: “it’s the only place in Paris where I don’t have to see it”.
