Eiffel Tower, Hundred and fifteen years back, France was preparing for the world exposition in Paris to be held in 1889 to celebrate 100th anniversary of French Revolution. Gustave Eiffel, the project incharge wanted to project his country as a leader in Industrial revolution; the only way was construction. His concept was greatly supported by Industry Minister Edouard Lockroy. Here are some Eiffel Tower construction pictures…
Fifty engineers and designers produced 5,300 drawings, and over 100 workers built more than 18,000 different parts of the tower in a workshop. Another 132 workers assembed them on site.
The four pillars of the Eiffel Tower stand in a square that measures 125 meters on each side. They are oriented in line with the 4 cardinal points.
• The metal structure weighs 7,300 tons.
• Total weight: 10,100 tons.
• Number of rivets used: 2,500,000.
• Number of iron parts: 18,038.
• Cost of construction: 7,799,401.31 French gold francs of 1889.
The monument was inaugurated on March 31, 1889. On that day, Gustave Eiffel climbed the 1,710 steps of the Tower to plant the French lag at its peak. He was followed by the members of the Council of Paris, including Emile Chautemps, President of the Paris City Council. The Eiffel Tower was the highest building in the world until 1929, when the Chrysler Building in New York topped it at 319 metres.