126th Anniversary of Eiffel Tower Opening

Today marks the 126th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower; it opened to the public on March 31, 1889. Built in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World's Fair), it was initially criticized by for its design and mocked as "a truly tragic street lamp." Now, it has become the most visited paid monument in the world with almost 7 million annual visitors. The tower had received 250 million visitor by 2010, 75% of them were from overseas.

At 324 meters or 1,063 feet, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world. It held the title for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was built in 1930. In comparison, the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas stands at 350.2 meters or 1,149 ft; Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino has a half scale, 165-meter or 541-foot tall replica of the Eiffel Tower.

Google has featured an Eiffel Tower Doodle by artist Floriane Marchix on its web page to commemorate the 126th anniversary of the tower's public opening.

Postcard FR-430903 from France shows a view of Paris from Tour Montparnasse with the Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars on the left side, and Les Invalides on the lower right.

Eiffel Tower, and the Replicas

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

I have been sending off quite a few Eiffel Tower postcards since I joined the PostCrossing, although they were of the replica in front of Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. Naturally, I was quite excited when I received a postcard (FR-287501) of the Eiffel Tower from Paris, France yesterday.

Paris Las Vegas Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

Coincidentally, France celebrates its first gay marriage yesterday, becoming the 14th country to legalize gay marriage,  after President François Hollande signed the country’s “Marriage for All” act into law on May 18, 2013.

More coincidentally, when Paris Hotel's owner Harrah's focused on marketing its properties to specific segments of the population to counter the 2008-2009 economic downturn, Paris was being marketed heavily towards gay and lesbian travelers, according to a Las Vegas Review Journal article "Executive Wants To Ensure Hotel Guests Get Social Cachet For Their Cash" posted on February 22, 2009.

In the United States, only Washington, D.C., and 12 states have legalized same-sex marriage. If we are proud that we have at least 10 Eiffel Tower replicas in the United States, will we be prouder when some day the same-sex marriage is recognized in all 50 states in the United States, following France's lead?

Here are a few more postcards of the Las Vegas Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas Hotel:

US-2209904

Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas Hotel under a Full Moon

You can find postcards of the Las Vegas Eiffel Tower from many gift shops in Las Vegas. You can purchase a copy of the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas under a Full Moon from Zazzle.com.

If you have a postcard or a photo of the Eiffel Tower or one of the replicas around the world, can you send me a copy? I will return a postcard to you from Las Vegas and feature your card here.

Eiffel Tower replicas in the US:

• Eiffel Tower, Kings Island Amusement Park, Mason, Ohio, 101 m  (332 ft), 1:3 scale
• Eiffel Tower, Kings Dominion Amusement Park, Doswell, Virginia, 101 m (332 ft), 1:3 scale
• Bordeaux Tower, Fayetteville, North Carolina, 45 m (148 ft), 1:6 scale
• Eiffel Tower. EPCOT, Disney World, Orlando, Florida, 23 m (76 ft), 1:14 scale
• Paris-Texas Eiffel Tower,  Paris, Texas, 20 m (66 ft), 1:16 scale
• Paris-Tennessee Eiffel Tower, Paris, Tennessee.  18 m (60 ft), 1:20 scale
• Meccano model, SciTrek Technology Museum, Atlanta, Georgia, 11 m (36 ft)
• Dreyfus Eiffel Tower, Austin, Texas, 7.5 m (25 ft), 1:45 scale
• Paris-Michigan Eiffel Tower, Paris, Michigan, 3 m (10 ft), 1:110 scale