A historic part of the Eiffel Tower is scheduled to be auctioned in Paris next month. The item is a section of the tower’s original spiral staircase, which once connected the second level of the monument to its summit. The staircase remained in use until elevators replaced it in 1983.
When the staircase was removed, it was divided into 24 separate pieces. Four sections were given to museums, while the remaining portions were sold at auction that same year. The segment now coming up for sale is known as “section No. 1,” and it was the first piece offered during that earlier sale.
The section stands about nine feet tall and measures more than five feet across, consisting of 14 metal steps made from steel and sheet metal. It is currently owned by a French businessman whose identity has not been publicly disclosed. For the past four decades, the piece has been kept in storage. It was recently restored by the same craftsmen responsible for maintaining the Eiffel Tower itself.
The Paris auction house Artcurial estimates the staircase section could sell for between $146,000 and $176,000. However, auction officials believe the final price could exceed that range. In 2016, another portion of the staircase — section 13 — sold to a Chinese collector for more than $600,000.
Other pieces of the original staircase have been placed in museums and public locations around the world. Some are housed in Paris at the Musée d’Orsay, while another section can be found near the Statue of Liberty in New York. Artcurial expec