The French are spiffying up the Eiffel Tower for its 120th anniversary — adding an expanded (but temporary) observation deck on the top that gives it a sort of Seattle flare.
I was surprised to find I actually liked it. traditionalist that I am. Especially knowing that it’s just for the anniversary year — or so they say now. Don’t forget that the tower itself was a temporary structure for a World’s Fair …
22 view(s)
So-called temporary stuff was built so well in years gone by that it’s still with us. Lots of stuff that should be made better nowadays is already falling down around our ears. I suppose that’s what we get for always awarding contracts to the cheapest bidder.
Does this comment make me a cranky old coot? I prefer to think of myself as prematurely wise.
Well, the ET had to be built to last a few years at least, so it wasn’t like the intentionally shoddy structures that are often thrown up for world fairs/expositions. And, of course, in Older, Pre-Computer Days, it wasn’t unusual to over-engineer and increase the safety margin significantly in order to keep the thing from falling over.
On the other hand, what you describe is also something of the Classical Music Paradox. Was Classical Music really as great as we know it to be? Well, the stuff that was crap hasn’t been handed down to us; the stuff that stood the test of time is presumably, the greatest. Similarly, the temporary (or even permanent) stuff built in the past (because “lowest bidder” wasn’t a 20th Century invention) that was crap *has* already fallen down or gotten torn down.