Daniel looks at a photo of Paris and says he cannot imagine the city without the Eiffel Tower.

Mom tells him it almost wasn't there.

When Gustave Eiffel announced plans for his iron tower in 1887, some of the most celebrated writers, artists, and architects in France were furious. They published a letter in a major Paris newspaper calling it a gigantic black smokestack, a blight on Paris, and a truly tragic street lamp. Guy de Maupassant -- one of France's most famous writers -- called it an eyesore and said it was an insult to everything beautiful about the city. Alexandre Dumas's son signed the petition. Charles Garnier, who designed the Paris Opera House, signed it. These were not random critics. They were the cultural authorities of France.

Eiffel built it anyway. Two million people visited during the 1889 World's Fair. And  ...