PARIS, April 1 (UPI) -- The landmark Eiffel Tower in Paris is getting a face lift to mark its 120th birthday.
A team of 25 painters attached to ropes headed to the top of the "Iron Lady" in Paris to begin the process of brushing on 60 tons of gray-brown semi-gloss paint, The Times of London reported Wednesday.
"It's the color that best suits the tower; it's her most beautiful dress," said Jean-Bernard Bros, head of the company that runs the monument.
The tower's latest paint job is the 17th it has received since it opened on March 31, 1889, to mark the centenary of the French Revolution.
The tower was supposed to be demolished 20 years later but engineer Gustave Eiffel, the tower's designer, persuaded the Paris council not to take it down.
When the tower first opened its only color came from red rust-proofing. Since then it has been painted a variety of shades from brownish orange to yellow.
These days lighting, not paint, is used to change its color for special events.
