Living Memory: Voices Across Time

Throughout its history, the tower has touched individual lives in profound ways. Jean-Pierre Houdin, whose grandfather worked on the original construction and whose father maintained it in the 1950s, represents one of several "tower families" spanning generations: "My children are the fourth generation connected to the tower. It's not just our workplace—it's our heritage."

Sarah Morrison, an American artist who has painted the tower from every angle over 40 years, reflects: "The tower changes with light, season, and mood. It's never the same twice. That's why it never grows old—it's alive, breathing with the city."

Ahmed Benzine, whose parents arrived from Algeria in 1962, proposed to his wife at the summit in 1987: "We were poor students. The ticket price meant eating bread for a week. But we needed the tower's blessing. Thirty-five years later, our granddaughter works in the tower restaurant. The circle completes."