Bon anniversaire au symbole phallique la France

[Louis VI the Fat]

Best thread title ever! (Mistakes and all - which add to the charm! *)


I rather like the Eiffel Tower. It belongs to the city. It is as much a symbol as the Pyramids are for Egypt, or the Colloseum for Rome. The Egyptians would've been dissapointed that of all of their remarkable structures, it would be the bland pyramids that would be remembered. The same probably goes for the Colloseum. Which was a banal sports stadium in a city of temples and wonder. Paris is full of hôtels, palaces, churches, domes, a sumptuous opera and city hall. (Plus the greatest bit of Paris - the Luco). But for all of that, it is a temporary structure of iron, with no other purpose than to show off a bit, that is associated most closely with Paris.


It had a real 'wow' factor when it was build. We are all used to scyscrapers, to massive 747's flying over entire oceans. But back in 1889, a 324 meter tower was awe-inspiring. But the novelty wore off quickly. For much of the twentieth century the tower was hated by Parisians. Said to destroy the skyline, to disrupt the uniformity of the Parisian style. The beauty of Paris is not just the monuments. It is those thousands of Hausmannian buildings. All carved from the same stone, build according to the same scheme. Those streets upon streets that look like palace wings.

Nowadays, the Eiffel tower is cherished. As so many cultural artifacts (fashion, design, music, architecture) it has come full circle. From fashionable, to ridicule, to re-appriciation and symbol of an age. It is now seen as a great symbol of 19th century sense of progress. There is also an appreciation for the beauty of the structure itself. For its size it is remarkably delicate. For several tens of thousands of tons of steel, it does not look brutal, or heavy. It looks lightweight, slender, elegant.

(But of all the remarkable structures that were build for World Expositions, why oh why did they chose to leave the Eiffel Tower and the Chaillot Palace standing, while destructing those entire cities that were erected! )


*Edit: Are you sure France is a phallic symbol?