fugly

stingray

That's shocking... maybe next China will make the Great Wall of China into a roller coaster. And then we will give Lady Liberty grillz. With diamonds. Yeah. Diamonds.

pardyhardy

I like it and think it is a good idea. The first level is big and can handle many people, but the second and third are obviously smaller. If you can visit during the week and between Fall and Spring, you'll miss most of the tourists.

Anyways, I like the look of it. I'll swing by if and when it's put into place. (Don't forget to send a friend a post card stamped from the tower.)

vagrant

It's temporary and "simply bolted in place" huh? Wow, sounds incredibly safe.

SuppleMonkey

The Eiffel tower just became the mascot for These Guys.

mthrndr

I like it. Good to know the French have a sense of humour and whismy even about their most famous icon.

All you art buffs out there would know these were pretty much the same reactions when the Tower was first unveiled. Taste changes.

Gloria

nnnnnnNNNOOOOOOOoOooOOOOOOOOOOOoooOoOoOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

dapigu8

Interesting but awful...
They should just cover it with a giant condom.
It's France right?

aec007

@Red Right Hand:
Ah, I see your French; or just not a master of the obvious yet.

@trendspotter:
As usual, no one is catering to douchebaggery these days....

Out2gtcha

Leave it to the French to F-up their own design.

OldCrow

@TheCyberBob: so was the original tower - temporary that is....

flyboy

it's supposed to be temporary? wait... wasn't the eiffel tower also supposed to be temporary? ;-)

Bodypainter

I bet this is as "temporary" as that dumb Mickey Mouse hand on the side of the EPCOT ball in Disney World. At least this looks a little better.

HummerMan3

So, Paris was like Google of their times, Eiffel tower never came out of beta, so no matter what they do, people can't complain about it.

auroragb

Shouldn't they just fly a big white flag? (I'm just saying)

Set to evil

Funny part is...the Eiffel Tower was originally "temporary" when it was built for the World Fair 120 years ago...way to keep with the "temporary" idea guys...lol

xthemusicmanx

I've seen some stupid ideas in my time, and this is one of them. Paris, and by extension, all of France, is defined by pretty much one thing: the famed Eiffel shape (well, that and wine and cheese, both of which are made better in Cali, but who cares). Talk about the mustache on the Mona Lisa... >.<

DaOtter

@Out2gtcha: I think the railings will just hold in the morons, douche-bags will have to fend for themselves as per usual.

trendspotter

it wouldn´t be the same =)

vinchbr

@faabshaam: I hope the French don't come over and do something to the Statue of Liberty; its property of the USA, no backsies.

trendspotter

Meh, glad it's temporary. It doesn't look that good in my opinion though it's a nice touch to accommodate tourists. If they wanted something more permanent I hope they do a design the incorporates better with the original tower.

EmptyRepublic

@Red Right Hand: You're my hero for the day!

Barry99705

pretty cool I'd like to get a contrasting phot of it to match this [www.ikea.com]

Boognish

was about to freak before I read the temporary thing... but I guess its a fine thing to do TEMPARERILY... maybe =/

Bash_

Ugh. This is as tacky as sticking a high tech new addition to something as classic and iconic as the Eiffel tower. Wait a second...

SecretAsianMan

@TheCyberBob:

well, the eiffel tower itself was built to be temporary, so what do you class as too much effort.

speakerwizard

Looks like some sort of new dish to pick up the 700mhz band.

Y2KGTP

Remember the Citroën sign that was on the tower from 1925 to 1934?
[en.wikipedia.org]

Galley

@TheCyberBob: Still, though, at least it's not as bad as those temporary waterfalls on the Hudson river.

Stang70Fastback

Good Morning, Paris:
[foxweb.marist.edu]

Way

@Way: For reference,

Way

@TheDeotch: If you were a big enough giant and had a big enough lawn, the Eiffel Tower with this handy addition would make a perfect single-tined cultivator. You'd basically use the pointy side of the Tower to stab at the earth and prepare it for planting.

Of course, if you were that big a giant and were visiting Paris, you might prefer to pick yourself up a hoe rather than a cultivator. Perhaps you could find both in the same arrondissement?

frigg

And in another 120 years, it'll get a "temporary" holographic projector installed...

ret3

@Out2gtcha: No dumbass, actually they are gonna give it a downhill slope and spread grease on it.

Red Right Hand

Temporary? I thought this was going to make my library of pre-platform pictures jump in value.

jetexas

@UofITom: It would be fitting, given that the tower itself was suposed to be temporary.

ret3

@TheCyberBob:
Whoever came up with the idea is probably thinking that it will catch on and become permanent - just like how the Eiffel Tower was supposed to be temporary and become a permanent fixture.

Lstormy10

@TheCyberBob: The tower was also built as a temporary structure for the World's Fair. But the once eyesore made it's money back much quicker than expected and became an iconic symbol of Paris. It's possible that this could also be a permanent structure or kept in place a lot longer than initially intended.

Leonard Nimrod

The tower itself was temporary too.

ianmac47

@SirDrinksalot:
Break the deal - get the wheel.

ShinySideUp

pretty cool. Wonder if they'll do anything to the Statue of Liberty after seeing its success

faabshaam

It's wrong to be French.

That being said, I hope they have some sort of incorporated railing system to contain the sight-seeing douche-bags and morons who may get a tad too close to the edge......

Out2gtcha

Naw.

jonny

Looks like a busted IUD to me.

monkeyrotica

Paris was jealous of the Seattle skyline, as featured at the beginning of each episode of Frasier.

Way

I bet it becomes permanent.

UofITom

Two men enter. One man leaves!

SirDrinksalot

tasteful new spin on an old icon. The temporary status is probably a good thing as many would up in arms if the skyline changed forever just to give tourists a place to stand. But I think it looks pretty damn cool.

any idea how long it will be on there?

Lavallee017

@frigg: ...what?

TheDeotch

If you were a giant, this would make the Eiffel Tower into a useful garden tool.

frigg

looks like the coney island parachute jump

hanbush

It's kinda cool looking but seems like an awful lot of work and money for something that is "temporary".

TheCyberBob

Wait...it's not April 1st yet.

craig

It doesn't go with the existing architecture of the tower

Open lattice-work, a symmetrical design mimicking the slope of the towers legs, curves that mirror the arches below them... nope, doesn't go at all.

twoeightnine

@smegz: It's never stopped them before...

strider_mt2k

It's temporary and "simply bolted in place" huh? Wow, sounds incredibly safe.

Umm, how do you think the tower itself is held up? A giant tube of glue?

twoeightnine

For those calling this "tasteful" or "cool looking" have no clue! This is a monstrosity! It doesn't go with the existing architecture of the tower, it looks like a flattened badminton bird stuck randomly on the top. Kinda looks like the business end of a ski pole. Don't do it France! At least not with that piece of crap.

smegz

Apparently, the ice rink and scuba lessons weren't 'out there' enough...?

hoserelder

"And then we will give Lady Liberty grillz. "

Hey, at least we can still go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Did the Statue of Liberty's observation decks ever reopen?

Keep in mind too; there's a scale replica of our Beloved Lady of Freedom just up the river from the Eiffel Tower, too. (Much better photo opportunities than the real one)

hoserelder

Are they renaming it "The Eiffel Flower?"

paulnptld

@SuppleMonkey: It's temporary and "simply bolted in place" huh? Wow, sounds incredibly safe.

It has to be temporary as its one, if not the, most known structures in the world. To alter it permanently would be almost sacrilegious.

And as twoeightnine said, just how do you think the rest of the tower is held up? yup 120yr old bolts (ok there were obviously maintenance replacements, but you get the idea).

Tensor

@Out2gtcha: Cherokee, and anybody wasting the rest of the worlds time by stating the obvious is a waste of oxygen and a master of nothing.

Red Right Hand

@twoeightnine: @Tensor:

Hey, okay ... there's original construction, which is ostensibly "meant to last" (skip the whole "the tower was only temporary" schtick). Then there's temporary stuff which is NOT meant to last.

I'm just sayin'.

SuppleMonkey

I think the French need to find a non-french designer_

uberfu

@Out2gtcha: nope - you'll be able to stand on the very edge w/o the worry of being blocked or held back by some stinking "barrier" or railing system_

uberfu

oh wow, i read somewhere they were planning to turn it upside down for Bastille day, I guess Sarcozi has other plans.

Arelar

Il est très laid.

DWD

That just made BASE jumping from the upper level a hell of a lot less technical. Awesome.

FLskydiver

@Tensor: I don't know if it's still true (or, for that matter) if it was really true then), but about fifteen years ago when I was in school, we were taught that all the bolts in the Eiffel Tower are original -- no maintenance replacements.

rraszews

@TheCyberBob: It may be worth pointing out that the tower itself was also "Temporary". They built it with every intention of taking it down again after the World's Fair.

rraszews

I live in Paris and this idea is super craptacular. Having on numerous occasions had to wait in line to go up the Eiffel Tower with visiting friends and family I can understand why they would want to increase its capacity but at what cost? I sincerely hope that this does not come to pass. It totally ruins the beautiful simple lines of the Eiffel Tower. Somehow having to wait makes actually getting up to the top a better experience in that you have to earn your way there and are rewarded with the great experience of seeing Paris from so high up.

-Scott

Netscott

@Netscott: I was worried I was going to get pickpocketed the entire time I was waiting. Then it too so long to get to the top, and the line was so long to get down, I said, "screw this," and just took the stairs because I was late for a dinner cruise down the Seine.

That was a looooooong walk down.

jetexas

@TheCyberBob:
Comment on Eiffel Tower Getting Huge Observation Deck Made of Kevlar Webbing Don't forget the Eiffel Tower itself was meant to be only a temporary structure ...

SarasiPodalirius

"I was worried I was going to get pickpocketed the entire time I was waiting."

Ah. The Americans are so easy to spot... (especially the Texans)

C'mon, dude. We climbed UP the tower to the second deck, we took the stairs! All 600+ of them. After a climb like that, the line for the lift is nothin'.

hoserelder

Another cool thing in France that's an eyesore for a few years until it inexplicably becomes a national landmark.

Built on top of the previous eyesore which somehow became a national symbol of France.

cyborgtroy

Looks like the bottom side of a mushroom, a poisonous one at that.

Jimjobob

Leave it to the French to make the Fleur de Lis into a Merde de Lise.

Jimjobob