A French collector bought a 14-step staircase section of the Eiffel Tower at an auction in Paris.
A section of the original spiral staircase from the Eiffel Tower was sold at auction by Artcurial in Paris for around €450,000 ($523,000) on Thursday.
A French collector purchased the nearly three-meter-high (about 9-foot-high) section of the Eiffel Tower staircase that dates back to 1889. The staircase consists of 14 steps and weighs 1.4 tons. It had previously been valued at between €120,000 and €150,000.
The steps were part of a spiral staircase connecting the second and third floors of the Parisian landmark. In 1983, when an elevator was installed, the staircase was dismantled into 24 pieces of varying sizes.
These sections became coveted collector's items and are now located all over the world. Some are at the Statue of Liberty in New York, while others are in the gardens of the Yoishii Foundation in Japan. Others remain in private collections.
