The Eiffel Tower opened in the 1889 World's Fair, initially planned to be taken down after 20 years. This guide provides access to materials related to the “Eiffel Tower” in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers.
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About Chronicling America
Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages through 1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
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Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
Introduction
“The sight of it vexes poetic souls,” quotes the Advocate in 1894. Now considered an iconic part of the Paris skyline, the Eiffel Tower began as a controversial and temporary monument for the 1889 World’s Fair. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
Timeline
1889
The Eiffel Tower opens as a part of the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. The tallest structure in the world at the time, it is to be taken down after 20 years.
1903- 1913
Gustave Eiffel’s successful experiments with wireless broadcasting and communication convince the City of Paris to let the Eiffel Tower remain standing.