Even today the Eiffel Tower soars above the Paris skyline, an icon of the city and of Europe as a whole. When first built as France’s contribution to the 1889 world’s fair, which also coincided with the 100-year anniversary of the French Revolution, it was nothing less than a world wonder. Designed and built by Alexandre Eiffel for around 8 million francs (the equivalent of nearly 40 million dollars today) and topping off at almost 1,100 feet, comparable to the Chrysler building in Manhattan, it did not fail to impress, particularly those who walked under it to enter the World Fair in Paris.

On this day, May 6, in 1889, the Eiffel Tower opened as the entrance arch to the World’s Fair. It was planned only as a temporary structure, to be dismantled after 20 years.

The tower was saved partly because of its great location for science experiments. Eiffel, who dabbled in the emerging field of meteorology, used the tower to take barometric and wind-speed readings. Then the tower proved its usefulness as a radio and television antenna – five radio stations, and until 2011 six television ones broadcast from its top.