Belgium’s Atomium turns 50

Belgium on Thursday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Atomium, an oddity of modern architecture touted as the “most astonishing building in the world.”

Built for the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels, the Atomium is a towering structure made up of nine giant aluminum-clad spheres linked with steel tubes. The sci-fi design represents an iron atom magnified 165 billion times.

Originally planned as a temporary attraction, it became one of the best-known landmarks of the Belgian capital. But by the end of the century, the Atomium had fallen on hard times. Visitor numbers fell to just 120,000 in 2000. The building bounced back in 2006. After a two-year, $43-million face-lift, it attracted 1 million visitors in 18 months.