The Eiffel Tower grew by six meters (nearly 20 feet) on Tuesday after engineers hoisted a new communications antenna at the very top of France's most iconic landmark. Tourists watched from the Trocadero esplanade as the new digital radio antenna was helicoptered up. With the new antenna, the Eiffel Tower grew from 1,063 feet tall. The Eiffel Tower was 1,024 feet high when it was inaugurated on March 31, 1889.
The Eiffel Tower company's president, Jean-François Martins, told The Associated Press that scientific progress is an integral part of the Iron Lady's 133-year history. “It's a historical moment this morning, because the Eiffel Tower is getting higher, which is not so common," he said.
“From the invention of the radio at the beginning of the 20th century to right now, decades after decades, the Eiffel Tower has been a partner for all the radio technology,” Martins said.
Reacting to the news, Twitterverse shared their dreams and memories of the Eiffel Tower. While one of them said he wants to go to the top with the girl of his dreams, another one recalled proposing to his partner in front of France's iconic landmark. Another one posted photos of the Eiffel Tower from a different perspective. Some also claimed that the landmark can grow up to 15 cm during hot days as the iron built structure expands due to heat. "The Eiffel Tower can grow up to 15 cm taller during the warmer months, due to thermal expansion meaning the iron heats up, the particles gain kinetic energy and take up more space," the user claimed.
Meanwhile, owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the tower had to shut down to visitors in late 2020 as the spread of the virus forced the closure of multiple spots where crowds might gather and spread the disease. It was the second coronavirus closure suffered at the tower, which was also shut down for parts of the spring of 2020 when the virus first started spreading through Europe.
In a normal year, the tower gets 7 million visitors. It has stood in the French capital since 1889.
--with agency inputs
