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LA DAME DE FER
The “iron lady” of Paris stands 330 m (1,083 ft) over the Champ de Mars at the banks of the Seine. The Eiffel Tower was constructed by Compagnie des Établissements Eiffel under French civil engineer, Gustave Eiffel. The tower’s design is attributed to two of Eiffel’s engineers, Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier who envisioned the tower as a temporary installation for the 1889 World’s Fair, celebrating the centennial of the French Revolution. At the time of its construction, the Eiffel Tower was not well received and many felt the immense iron-lattice structure would ruin the beauty of Paris. The Eiffel Tower has since become a global cultural icon of France, receiving upwards of 7 million visitors a year and named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.