Snapping a photo of the Eiffel Tower at nighttime is a must for tourists visiting Paris ( even if itistechnically illegal ) , but if you want a little something extra to think back the historical turning point by , why not take a piece of it home with you ? AsCNNreports , a section ofla Tour Eiffel ’s original staircase is being deal today by French auction house Artcurial .
The artifact will likely set you back some $ 40,0000 to $ 60,000 according to early estimate , but then again , many would regard it a invaluable bit of history . The 25 - step whorled staircase digest at about 13 feet tall and was part of the staircase that connected the second and third levels of the tower , which was build by Gallic applied scientist Alexandre Gustave Eiffel for the1889 Paris Exposition . The stairway remained in place until 1983 , when it was replaced by elevators .
Considering that the Eiffel Tower stands 1063 feet magniloquent ( including the aerial on top ) and has a total of1710 steps(visitors can only climb the roughly 700 steps leading to the first and second platforms ) , the coiling staircase is a relatively belittled part of the overall structure . Nonetheless , its architectural and historical meaning have made it a worthful artifact . The original stairway was separate into24 department , some of which were sent off to dissimilar creation .
A couple sections of the staircase are on view at two Paris museum — the Musée d’Orsay and the Science and Industry Museum — while another musical composition can be observe near theStatue of Libertyin New York City .
Other pieces were auctioned off to secret collectors . In 2013 , a section of staircase measure more than 11 metrical unit tall was snapped up for $ 249,000 , and in 2016 another small-arm sell for $ 593,000 — which makes the estimation on the current small-arm seem like a steal .
[ h / tCNN ]
