A chunk of steps, measuring nearly 10 feet in height and dating from the Eiffel Tower’s original 1889 staircase, was sold at an auction in Paris on Tuesday for almost 10 times the expected price.
In 1983, part of the wrought-iron staircase that connected the second floor of the Eiffel Tower to the third floor was removed to make way for the installation of an elevator. The staircase was then divided into 24 chunks. Of the 24 pieces, 3 were given to French museums, 1 is still on display on the 1st floor museum at the Eiffel Tower, and the remaining pieces were sold to private collections. The 14-step chunk of the Eiffel Tower’s spiral staircase, sold at the auction on Tuesday, came from a Canadian art collector. It was expected to draw roughly $40,000, but was acquired by a European collection for $328,427. In 2016, another original Eiffel Tower staircase chunk was sold by Paris auction house Artcurial. It fetched a staggering $635,000!
The Eiffel Tower was built by engineer Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World Fair in Paris. It is over 984 feet tall. It is one of the most visited monument in the world. with approximately 7 million visitors each year.