I have always admired Eiffel's work because of the imagination Eiffel had. Even by today's standards , Eiffel is a modern Architect and a formidable engineer. This blend of genius and inventivity made him famous , during his life and way after he was deceased.
My admiration for the Eiffel Tower came when I first visited Paris in 1976, I was 13 year old and was coming from my Province , Marseille . I remember looking up when first seeing the Tower, la "Grande Dame de Paris". The impression is not the same impression than when looking at "Notre-Dame" Cathedral or any others monuments I have visited, The tower imposes by its strength, and its delicateness at the same time .A monument to fall in love with. Spend time walking its stairways, or looking from below and you will always find a new angle, a detail that will inspire you.
Part of the world attraction to the Eiffel Tower is that this monument is absolutely useless, has no functional role and was supposed to be built and removed 2 years after its construction. Even the Pyramid of Gizeh had a small passive role as a tomb. This is fascinating , how can men be spending so much, for the ultimate goal of ...nothing? So many details, so much energy, so much steel , for such a beautifully goalless result.
The ultimate monument.
In an era where people are vastly spirited to gather fame and money it is difficult to understand the motivation of Auguste Eiffel that kept building the Eiffel Tower in 1889 against its opponents and they were many.