What do the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty have in common?

Actually, they have several things in common.  Both were designed in France by Frenchmen.  And both were constructed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel!

The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the People of the United States from the people of France to celebrate our county's 100 birthday.  The statue was designed by a French artist named Bartholdi in 1875.  Its real name is "Liberty Enlightening the World".  Although Bartholdi designed the look of the statue and participated in its construction, he needed the help of Mr. Eiffel to design the structural support that would hold the statue up and make it able to withstand both extremes of weather and millions of people visiting it.
Bartholdi made two smaller models of "Liberty", both of which are in Paris.  One is in the Luxumbourg Garden, which Pops and I have walked through several times.  The other is in another part of Paris, not far from the Eiffel Tower.

The statue really was a gift of the French people, since it was funded in large part by donations from ordinary French citizens.  Even the children of France raised money to pay for the construction of the wonderful gift to the country they had never even visited.  France paid for the cost of the statue, with the agreement that the United States pay for the building of the pedestal on which it stands.  Not everyone in the US thought this was a good way to spend money, but fortunately enough donations were received and the pedestal was built on what is now called Liberty Island.  The statue was built and transported in pieces and was finally assembled in 1886.  Mr Eiffel was then free to work on his next project, the building of a tall iron structure to be the centerpiece of the World Exhibition held in Paris in 1889! 

The Eiffel tower was the tallest structure in the world when it was built, but it was not intended to be permanent.  It was supposed to be torn down in 1909, but it was saved when it became useful as a broadcast tower.  Here is a great link to learn more about the Eiffel tower.
http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/

See you guys soon!

MPZ