What if your city built something so ugly that hundreds of famous people signed a letter begging them to tear it down? That is exactly what happened in Paris, France. On March 31, 1889, the Eiffel Tower was finished. It was built for a world's fair celebrating one hundred years since the French Revolution. At over one thousand feet tall, the iron tower was the tallest structure in the world. But many people in Paris thought it was horrible. Artists and writers called it a "metal asparagus" and a "tragic street lamp." A famous writer named Guy de Maupassant said he ate lunch at the tower every day because it was the only place where he could not see it! The tower was only supposed to stand for twenty years. After that, the plan was to take it apart. But something unexpected happened. The tower turned out to be useful for sending radio signals across long distances. So instead of being torn down, it stayed. Over time, people stopped hating the Eiffel Tower and started loving it. Today, about seven million people visit the tower every year. It has become the most famous landmark in France.