A Monument to Collaboration

As the tower prepared to open to the public, the workers held their own celebration. Eiffel had commissioned medals for every worker who contributed to construction, inscribed with their name and trade. At the ceremony, held at the tower's base, representatives of each nationality spoke briefly.

Antonio Silva, representing the Portuguese workers, captured the mood: "We came as strangers to France, some escaping poverty, some seeking opportunity. We will leave as brothers, having built something that will outlive us all. When our grandchildren see the tower, we will say, 'I helped build that,' and they will know that ordinary men can do extraordinary things."

The tower stood complete, a testament not just to engineering genius but to the power of human cooperation across all boundaries. As visitors began ascending for the 1889 Exposition, they were riding elevators installed by Americans, walking on platforms built by Italians, beneath ironwork crafted by Germans, riveted by Spanish workers, painted by Poles, all united under French leadership in a structure that belonged to the world.

The iron lady of Paris was ready for her debut, built by calloused hands and brilliant minds, standing as proof that with vision, courage, and respect for every worker, humanity could indeed touch the sky.# Chapter 4: The Tower Through Time

From its controversial birth in 1889 to its status as the world's most visited paid monument, the Eiffel Tower has lived through two world wars, technological revolutions, and countless personal dramas. Its iron lattice has witnessed proposals and protests, scientific breakthroughs and narrow escapes from demolition. This is the story of how a temporary structure became eternal, told through the voices of those who saved, transformed, and cherished it through thirteen decades.