Eiffel Tower - Paris, France
Posted by: 
manchanegra
N 48° 51.469 E 002° 17.704
31U E 448292 N 5411889
The Eiffel Tower is an icon for France and one of the world´s famous landmarks. It´s also one of the most represented landmarks in stamps.
Waymark Code: WMCZWX
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 10/31/2011
Views: 150
The Eiffel Tower was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Universal Exhibition, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution.
For two years three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of iron using two and a half million rivets.
The risk of accident was great as, unlike modern skyscrapers, the tower is an open frame without any intermediate floors except the two platforms. However, because Eiffel took safety precautions (unusual in those days), including the use of movable stagings, guard-rails and screens, only one man died.
The tower was inaugurated on 31 March 1889, and opened on 6 May.
The tower was much criticised by the public when it was built, with many calling it an eyesore. Newspapers of the day were filled with angry letters from the arts community of Paris.
Novelist Guy de Maupassant—who claimed to hate the tower supposedly ate lunch in the Tower's restaurant every day. When asked why, he answered that it was the one place in Paris where one could not see the structure. Today, the Tower is widely considered to be a striking piece of structural art.
Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years; it was to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris.
The City had planned to tear it down but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes and it was allowed to remain after the expiry of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne.
Since then, more than 200,000,000 people have visited the tower wich is the most-visited paid monument in the world.
Text from wikipedia
This particular stamp was issued by the French Post Office (La poste) in 2004 for the 77th congress of the Federation Française des Associations Philateliques. It´s a kind of naive/cartoon drawing of the Eiffel Tower dancing with a postcard in his hand.
Stamp Issuing Country: France
Date of Issue: 2004
Denomination: 77e Congress Federation Française des Associations Philateliques
Color: Yellow, green and blue
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
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