The Eiffel Tower is about to get its 20th coat of paint, and it may not be the color you're familiar with, the slightly-reddish brown that's been there for the past 50 years.
Paris authorities, in the midst of a 4-year €300 million renovation and ground changes, will analyze samples of the paint taken from the tower, going back to the reddish color of 1889, chosen because rust resistance, an important factor for the iron tower. Think Rustoleum. There's a possibility the tower will go back to that color, although there's been speculation about other colors, including an unlikely pink.
Among the choices in the tower's colorful history have ochre (1892-99, orange yellow at the base and light yellow at the top (1899-1907), yellow-brown (1907-54) and the present brown-red. Incidentally, the shade is usually varied from top to bottom to make the smaller, more distant upper parts seem the same shade as the rest.
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