Oh for the gaiety of Paris, a jewel among cities and bastion of civility and art and romance and sidewalk cafes and mimes and music on the street. If I didn't know better, however, I would swear that man down the sidewalk is wearing a cowboy hat....
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Imagine yourself having a romantic dinner in the perfect sidewalk cafe. Somewhere, softly, you hear a distant melody and lured to en evening drive. There, just ahead, towers the Eiffel Tower, a dominant landmark in the Paris night sky. Only, it doesn't appear as tall as you thought. And what hangs there on the point of the tower, strangely cocked to one side as if hilted in proud attitude.
Welcome to Paris, Texas, the second largest Paris in the world, and to the Paris, Texas, Eiffel Tower, once the second largest Eiffel Tower in the second largest Paris in the World.
Roadside wonder or clever northeast Texas humor, the Paris, Texas, Eiffel Tower stands 65 feet from ground to the red cowboy hat that sits proudly on top. Yep, this is Texas. And what use would an Eiffel Tower be, and what better use, than a hat rack for the symbol of Texas proud -- a Stetson.
Well, that might be dropping a brand name there, and we can't be prejudice. Maybe it's not a Stetson, but it darn sure is a cowboy hat. And fits well on the iron tower that holds it proudly.
Before the hat, before the iron tower in fact, the original Eiffel Tower in Paris, Texas, was made of wood. Now here's a pinch of Texas irony -- in a town that has been rated as one of the most secure from the threat of an earthquake, it was a Texas tornado that roared the countryside and uprooted the wooden tower and moved it, in pieces, elsewhere. To the rescue came the members of the Boiler Makers Local #902 who took upon themselves to build the iron replacement.
Indeed, upon completion, the town folk could brag they their community harbored the second largest Eiffel Tower in the world. But, alas, the residents of Paris, Tennessee took up the challenge and lifted their Eiffel Tower replica to 90 feet, claiming the title as the second largest. Alas again, when Paris, Paris Las Vegas opened to the world, their towering replica ended the battle between the Parises for good.
But what use is an Eiffel Tower if you can't use it for a hat rack? Leave it to a Texan! The Eiffel Tower in Paris, Texas, may not be the second tallest in the world, but it's the only one that has been put to good use. And, by the way, Paris, Texas doesn't have much of a French population. You can bet, instead, to find plenty of good Texas hospitality when you visit this northeast Texas town.
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Rio Grande Valley
