A piece of Paris in Fayetteville: Behind the city's longstanding Eiffel Tower replica

There are replicas of the Eiffel Tower in Nevada, Texas, China, Australia, South Africa, Romania — and right here in Fayetteville.

Located at the Bordeaux Shopping Center on Owen Drive, a replica of the iconic French landmark stands at about 100 feet tall, about 1/10th of the height of the original.

Installed in 1971, a few years after the shopping plaza was first established in 1964, the tower lends a certain “je ne sais quoi,” or distinctive character, to the shopping plaza named for the French city known as the world’s wine capital.

According to a 1998 Fayetteville Observer report, developer John Sandrock wanted something iconic to set the area apart. He chatted with several area residents, and one said, "Well if you're going to call this area Bordeaux, why not make it something French?"

In France, the Eiffel Tower is nearly a seven-hour drive from the city of Bordeaux. But the name and the tower at Bordeaux Shopping Center in the All-American City both seem French, oui?

After the tower's construction, businesses that moved into the center, like Walden's Shoe World, advertised their location as "under the 'Eiffel' Tower."

Now, the shopping center is home to a grocery store; Japanese, Chinese, Mexican and American restaurants; a pharmacy, doctor's offices and insurance providers.

Fayetteville’s French ties date to the 1780s

Bordeaux’s replica of the tower isn’t Fayetteville’s only French connection. When the city was established in 1783, it was the first to be named after French diplomat Marquis de La Fayette, who led American troops alongside George Washington in the Revolutionary War. You can also buy a cognac named for the Frenchman in Fayetteville-area liquor stores.

In 1993, Fayetteville established a partnership with sister city Saint-Avold, France. Among the more than 10,000 American soldiers from World War II who are buried in the Lorraine National Cemetery in Saint-Avold is Army Pfc. William M. Shaw Jr., whose family lived in Fayetteville. The 23-year-old was killed in action in France on September 12, 1944.

Related: Fayetteville celebrates 30 years of partnership with French sister city

Other towers nearby

Another Fayetteville shopping center is marked by an iconic tower. It's hard to miss the carnivalesque tower at Tallywood Shopping Center, made of crisscrossing steel rods. It predates the Bordeaux tower and was installed in the early '60s to provide a landmark for the center.

News at Tallywood: Longtime Fayetteville Mexican chain to close original restaurant, open a new one next door

Fayetteville’s Bordeaux neighborhood is not the only place to find an Eiffel Tower replica in North Carolina.

In Raleigh’s Lafayette Village, a European-style shopping center with locally owned shops and restaurants, is the Little Eiffel Tower, which stands about 25 feet tall.

There are at least 64 Eiffel Tower replicas around the world; you could travel the globe to visit them. Or, just stay here in Fayetteville.

Taylor Shook writes about food, dining and culture for The Fayetteville Observer. She can be reached at tshook@gannett.com or on Facebook.  

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Get the store behind the Eiffel Tower replica in Fayetteville, NC