What was the Paris exposition?

Also known as the Exposition Universelle, the Paris Exposition of 1889 celebrated the French Revolution’s centennial with a six-month showcase of industry, technology, art, and design. The most famous structure created for the exposition was the Eiffel Tower, designed by Gustave Eiffel, which has since become a symbol of France. The fair took place on 96 hectares (240 acres) in the Champ-de-Mars, north of the Seine, but also encompassed the Trocadéro gardens on the opposite side of the river, and had about 60,000 participants.

Among the highlights were the Eiffel Tower, the Crystal Palace, the Gallery of Machines, and the Exposition Park. With over 32 million visitors, the Exposition was the largest international event to that date.

Among the other buildings completed for the Universal Exposition were the current Musée d’Orsay, the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais, the Galerie des Machines, the Pont Alexandre-III, and the Eiffel Tower.

The Palace of Electricity was the first all-electrically lit building in Paris, and the Exposition included the first public showing of cinematography, the kinetoscope.

An estimated 25 million paid admissions helped to offset most of the costs of the Exposition, and the Eiffel Tower alone paid off its construction costs many times over by the fair’s end. It generated an operating profit for its investors even after the Exposition ended, and in fact was not transferred to the City of Paris until the end of the 20-year concession granted to Gustave Eiffel.