What practical function did the Eiffel Tower serve, and continues to serve?

elburcher

Radio Tower The tower stands 300 m (1000 ft) high, which is about 75 stories. Including the 20.75 m (70 ft) antenna, the structure is 320.75 m (1070 ft) high which is about 81 stories http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower Oct 10 06, 8:05 PM

davejacobs

Did serve? Certainly not radio, which wasn't invented until long after the tower was built. Oct 11 06, 8:06 AM

Brainyblonde

The tower was almost torn down in 1909, but was saved because of its antenna - used for telegraphy at that time. http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Landmarks/eiffel-history.htm Oct 11 06, 8:50 AM

What-A-Mess

The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the tower has been used for radio transmission. Until the 1950s, an occasionally modified set of antenna wires ran from the summit to anchors on the Avenue de Suffren and Champ de Mars. They were connected to long-wave transmitters in small bunkers; in 1909, a permanent underground radio center was built near the south pillar and still exists today. Since 1957, the tower has been used for transmission of FM radio and television. Originally, Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years (when ownership of it would revert to the City of Paris, who had originally planned to tear it down; part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily torn down), more than recouping his expenses, but as it later proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiry of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line of the Marne, and it therefore became a victory statue of that battle. It was also used to catch the infamous "Mata Hari", and after this, its demolition became unthinkable to the French population. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower Thank GOD they did NOT tear it down. It is a tribute to the brilliance and ingenuity of design. Oct 11 06, 12:28 PM

groovey67

Hitler also wanted to tear it down but was fortunately thwarted. Oct 11 06, 1:42 PM