The Tallest Tower

The Paris Universal Exposition of 1889 marked both the centennial of the French Revolution and France's recovery from the humiliating defeat of the Franco-Prussian War.  Gustave Eiffel's thousand-foot tower celebrated both those events.  But the tower was a stunning accomplishment in its own right, the tallest structure made by man.  It was as provocative as it was ambitious.  Even before its girders reached toward the sky, Charles Gounod, Alexandre Dumas fils, Guy de Ma