Restaurants

The tower has two restaurants: Le 58 tour Eiffel, on the first floor 311 ft (95 m) above sea level; and the Le Jules Verne, a gastronomicalrestaurant on the second floor, with a private lift. This restaurant has one star in theMichelin Red Guide. In January 2007, the multi-Michelin starchefAlain Ducassewas brought in to runJules Verne.^[47]

Attempted relocation

According to interviews given in the early 1980s, MontrealMayorJean Drapeaunegotiated a secret agreement with French PresidentCharles de Gaullefor the tower to be dismantled and temporarily relocated to Montreal to serve as a landmark and tourist attraction duringExpo 67. The plan was allegedly vetoed by the company which operated the tower out of fear that the French government could refuse permission for the tower to be restored to its original location.^[48]

Economics

The American TV show Pricing the Priceless speculates that in 2011 the tower would cost about $480,000,000 to build, that the land under the tower is worth $350,000,000, and that the scrap value of the tower is worth $3,500,000. The TV show estimates the tower makes a profit of about $29,000,000 per year, though it is unlikely that the Eiffel Tower is managed so as to maximize profit.

It costs $5,300,000 to repaint the tower, which is done once every seven years. The electric bill is $400,000 per year for 7.5 million kilowatt-hours.

The Tokyo TowerinJapanis a very similar structure of very similar size. It was finished in 1958 at a final cost of ¥2.8 billion ($8.4 million in 1958).

Reproductions

As one of the most iconic images in the world, the Eiffel Tower has been the inspiration for the creation of over 30 duplicates and similar towers around the world.

Communications

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the tower has been used for radio transmission. Until the 1950s, an occasionally modified set of antenna wires ran from the summit to anchors on the Avenue de Suffren and Champ de Mars. They were connected to long-wave transmitters in small bunkers; in 1909, a permanent underground radio centre was built near the south pillar and still exists today. On 20 November 1913, theParis Observatory, using the Eiffel Tower as an antenna, exchanged sustained wireless signals with theUnited States Naval Observatorywhich used an antenna inArlington, Virginia. The object of the transmissions was to measure the difference in longitude between Paris and Washington, D.C.^[49] Today, both radio and television stations broadcast their signals from the top of the Eiffel.