Notable monuments and structures dot the global landscape, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris is among the most recognizable in all the world. A wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889, when it served as the centerpiece of the World’s Fair. That’s not the only notable fact about the tower that has mesmerized millions since its completion more than a century ago.

Though the Eiffel Tower bears his name, Gustave Eiffel was not initially enthusiastic about the structure nor did he design it. The tower was actually thought up by engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier, who both worked for Eiffel’s firm. While Eiffel was initially lukewarm to the engineers’ design, to his credit he encouraged further exploration of the idea, and eventually supported a rendering that combined the ideas of Koechlin and Nouguier and the input of Stephen Sauvestre, who worked as the head of the architectural department at Eiffel’s firm.

The Eiffel Tower may be world renowned today, but the construction had its detractors during its construction and afterward. Legend has it that popular French writer Guy de Maupassant despised the tower to such a degree that he ate lunch in its restaurant every day because he felt it was the only place in all of Paris where he could sit and not see the tower.

There is a penthouse at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Officials who now oversee the tower indicate the apartment at its summit is 1,076 square feet, making it a comfortable space to utilize as an office and a place to receive distinguished guests. That’s precisely how Eiffel used the space, which was not open to the public upon the tower’s completion.

The Eiffel Tower was not meant to be an enduring landmark. Though it’s hard to imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower, the instantly recognizable structure was initially intended to be a temporary addition to the City of Light’s landscape. La Tour Eiffel notes that the tower was only intended to last 20 years but was saved by the scientific experiments conducted within it. Gustave Eiffel encouraged those experiments, which included efforts at radio transmissions. Indeed, the tower served as a military radio post in 1903 and transmitted the first public radio program in France in 1925.

The Eiffel Tower has been a hub of business throughout its existence. The tower is more than just a tourist attraction, as over the years it has housed the French newspaper Le Figaro, a post office and even a theater.