Eyesore or Icon?
The design was initially unpopular, both with people who thought it couldn’t be done and with people who thought the tower was an eyesore. The tower was built between January 1887 and March 1889 and opened to the public on May 6, 1889. The tower was immediately popular with the public and international celebrities, with Thomas Edison, Buffalo Bill, and the Prince of Wales among the earliest visitors. The tower was only intended to be temporary, standing only until 1909, but at that point, the tower had begun to be used for communications purposes as well as for tourism so it was decided to let it stand. It remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for 41 years, until it was overtaken by the Chrysler Building in 1930.