Eiffel Tower, Paris, France 1889 and 2016
There are few buildings in the world as iconic as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. It was a hit at the 1889 Paris World’s Fair, earning back the cost of its construction from ticket sales in one year. Critics derided the Eiffel Tower as an expensive eyesore at the time, but it inspired later World’s Fair designers to “out-Eiffel Eiffel,” creating a standard for innovative and eye-catching design. The Eiffel Tower was originally slated for dismantling in 1910, but Gustav Eiffel had the foresight to use it as a radio tower, science lab, and semi-secret apartment space, giving it a practical function. This saved the Tower, leading it to serve as a global tourist destination, seen in the modern image. Since its opening in 1889, it has had more than 167 million visitors.