The Eiffel Tower is a landmark in the city of

Paris, Tennessee Paris is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,316. A replica of the Eiffel Tower stands in the southern part of Paris. History The present site of Par ...

. It is a 1:20 scale replica of the

original Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...

located in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Background

Origin at Christian Brothers University

Engineering students at

Christian Brothers University Christian Brothers University is a private Catholic university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1871 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, a Catholic teaching order. History Founded on November 19, 1871, it was estab ...

originally constructed the tower to commemorate the 1990

Memphis in May Memphis in May International Festival is a month-long festival held in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival, which is saluting South Korea in 2025, honors a specific foreign country every year and features many events. The ''Beale Street Music Fest ...

festival. Each year, the festival honors a country, and 1990 focused on

. According to

Brother A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used ende ...

Patrick O'Brien, a public relations official for the university at the time: " he towerwas the centerpiece of one of our most popular quads." Regardless, the wooden tower was a temporary structure. Moreover, it could not remain at the university because students began to climb it even though it could not support their weight.

Finding a new home in Paris

In April 1991, the Paris- Henry County Chamber of Commerce sponsored "Paris U.S.A.," an event created to celebrate the shared charm of the fifteen U.S. cities named for the French capital. Representatives from five Parises accepted their invitations to enjoy Paris U.S.A. in Paris, Tennessee. During the fall of that year, Brother Patrick O'Brien remembered the celebration and asked Paris if it would be interested in accepting a scale replica of the Eiffel Tower. The city accepted, and the job began.

Construction and reconstruction

Initial construction

The tower was designed to scale by Tom Morrison, professor emeritus of

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

; Jim Jacobs, assistant professor of

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

; and Roland Raffanti, engineering lab technician, from Christian Brothers University. According to Brother Patrick O'Brien, Morrison designed the model based on the original drawings of

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel ( , ; Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway net ...

. At tall, the tower is a nearly perfect 1:20 scale replica of the original. Built through the labor of more than 10,000 hours donated by CBU students, faculty, alumni, and friends, the tower contains 500 pieces of

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

and 6,000

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

rods. The monument was assembled in CBU's Buckman Quadrangle. After CBU dismantled the tower, the parts were delivered to Paris in February 1992 and given two coats of paint. The Paris Public Works Department reassembled the tower in Memorial Park.

Dedication

The landmark was dedicated January 29, 1993. Paris acknowledged CBU's generous gesture with a joyful dedication ceremony and a plaque at the base of the tower.

Strengthening the structure

After deterioration to the wood structure, Keith Jackson, owner of Precision Grinding and Machine of Paris, recreated the original wood replica into a steel structure that still stands today. To accomplish the feat, PGM constructed the tower in three sections and trailered each section to Memorial Park where it was finally erected.

Footnotes

{{Reflist Towers in Tennessee Replicas and derivatives of the Eiffel Tower Towers completed in 1992 Buildings and structures in Henry County, Tennessee Christian Brothers University Tourist attractions in Henry County, Tennessee Roadside attractions in Tennessee Paris, Tennessee 1992 establishments in Tennessee