If you are ever planning on driving through the Texas city located thousands of miles from its French namesake, it is almost tradition to stop by the undeniably most famous attraction it holds, the Eiffel Tower. The tower is accessible to the public 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. This attraction has become an iconic sightsee for travelers staying or just rolling on through. The tower is truly so iconic you will very frequently find it printed onto local business logos and brands.
Located right outside the Love Civic Center lies the Paris, Texas Eiffel Tower. This tower is an incredible replica and tribute to the famous Parisian landmark, standing at a solid 65 feet, with a bright red cowboy hat to top it all off. Now, the height of the replica dims in comparison to the original Eiffel Tower located in Paris, France, but the southern charm it holds is absolutely undeniable.
There are fifteen American municipalities that carry the name of “Paris”. Many of these towns have paid tribute to France by building Eiffel Tower replicas. Paris, Texas built their Eiffel Tower in 1993, right along with Paris, Tennessee.
The construction was done by the Boilermakers Local #902 material and labor done by the Babcock & Wilcox Company. The design was consulted with an engineer named David Dickey. It is mostly constructed of steel carefully selected due to its strength and durability. The construction process being a local and community effort ties right along with Paris’s strong theme of having a united and hard working community. The tower performs as an amazing backdrop for events and festivals as it’s adorned with lights and other decorative elements. The southern style tower has very easily become a staple to the Texas pride Paris holds, and the people are not mad about it, as it is the main tourist attraction that the small town holds.
The Paris, Texas Eiffel Tower was originally built as a tourist attraction and a new attempt to get crowds rolling into the small town. This whole idea was inspired by other small towns throwing in their own attraction gimmicks and becoming extremely successful with their tactics. The project ended up meeting all expectations and brought in tons of tourists, just like intended. Years later the site is still pulling in just as much buzz.
Not only does the tower serve as a great sightseeing area surrounded by picnic tables, local pump track, basketball courts, and placed right next to the Red River Valley Veterans Memorial Museum, the tower has also been a great assist in proposals, gender reveals, and many more celebrations due to its nighttime lighting. When Christmas season rolls around the tower will even glow red and green to keep the town in the holiday spirit. Along side these great celebrations, if the tower is not in use it will typically glow the colors of the Texas flag. Massively on theme to compliment the cowboy hat topper.
Aside from its role as being the main tourist attraction, the tower is also set in place to pay homage to the French namesake it carries. While paying this homage to the famous landmark located in Paris, France, the citizens have a sense of connection to a far broader cultural heritage, while still holding onto their own individuality. This is reminded by the humorous and huge cowboy hat placed right on top of the Paris, Texas Tower.
Humorously enough, the original Paris, Texas Tower did not contain the famous red hat. The 1993 version of the tower was completely hatless. The hat actually did not come into play until 1998 when boosters voted it deserved a little more character. This actually ended up being one of the best ideas because in 1999, Las Vegas decided to enter the Eiffel Tower competition and blow everyone out of the water with their 540 foot Eiffel Tower replica. But no matter how tall these towers get, Paris, Texas remains the only one with a hat. So I guess you could call it the tallest Eiffel Tower, with a hat.
The picture perfect site should absolutely be on all bucket lists for travelers. The surrounding activities, beautiful nighttime lighting, and fun historical background really wraps it all up to being the best stop Paris,Texas offers.
