Piece of Eiffel Tower goes on the auction block
Published November 16th, 2007
A section of the winding iron staircase that Gustave Eiffel climbed to inaugurate the monument in 1889 will be sold at the Hotel Drouot auction house on Monday.
In 1983, the 1,911-step staircase was removed to make room for new elevators and was cut into 24 pieces that were auctioned off to museums and collectors around the world.
The 4.5-meter (14.7-foot) piece for sale once helped link the monument’s second and third levels and may be the last piece available to the public, said auctioneer Remi Ader. It is expected to sell for between €20,000 and €30,000 (US$29,000 and US$44,000), Ader said.
