Show Notes

The Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world. 300 million people have climbed its stairs – or its elevators – since the landmark first opened in 1889. You’ve seen it in countless movies, you’ve marvelled at its 20,000 lights. But did you know back when its design was first revealed to the public, 300 of France’s most-respected cultural luminaries called it “a humiliation, a mockery and an odious column of bolted metal?”

Major sources for this episode include:
1) Eiffel: The Genius Who Reinvented Himself by David I. Harvie
2) Top Luxury: “The Shocking Story of the Eiffel Tower”
3) TourEiffel.paris
4) Mashable: “Building the Eiffel Tower, despite vocal artistic backlash”
5) Mental Floss: “19 Mind-Blowing Eiffel Tower Facts You’ve Never Heard Before”

Writer & Host: Sidney Hirst-O’Reilly
Executive Producer & Co-Host: Terry O’Reilly
Research: Allison Pinches
Director: Callie O’Reilly
Supervising Producer: Debbie O’Reilly
Engineer: Geoff Devine
Theme Music: Ian Lefeuvre & Ari Posner
Tunes: APM Music

This show is brought to you by the Apostrophe Podcast Network and powered by Acast.