The Globe Céleste was an icon of the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris, similar to the Eiffel Tower. It was constructed in the shape of a large globe and stood close to the Eiffel Tower. It was in the form of a blue and gold sphere, 45 meters in diameter, on which were painted the constellations and signs of the zodiac. The sphere rested on a base about 18 meters high, made up of four masonry pillars that housed staircases and elevators, giving access to a flower-decked terrace at the top of the globe that was "catered for armchair space-travellers: spectators leaned back in easy chairs while panoramas depicting the solar system were rolled past."