Eiffel Tower Holds Plenty of History

I used to run up the Eiffel Tower. Now I take the elevator. Of course, the change in my ascent took place over about 50 years of gradual physical decline. Other than the blow to my pride, the worst thing about taking one of the tower elevators is standing in the long line of smokers puffing away on those harsh French cigarettes. Statistically, only 5 percent more French light up than Americans, but these smokers seem to be attracted to the Eiffel Tower.

 

It’s understandable, as the tower is revered as the symbol of Paris and of France. Located in the seventh arrondissement or district of Paris, it stands 1,063 feet above the Seine River at one end of the Champ de Mars (Field of Mars), a large public space across from the Ecole Militaire, a military college founded for poor cadets in 1750 by Louis XV.