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Sepia photograph of the unfinished Eiffel Tower in 1888, with its iron lattice and broad lower arch above bare ground.

Nº 300 · See

Before the Eiffel Tower became an icon

Before it was a silhouette recognised around the world, the Eiffel Tower was a plan for joining iron in the sky. The official construction history follows drawings, rivets, scaffolding, and the arguments surrounding the project. Look at the photographs of the unfinished structure: the familiar monument becomes strange again.

Why this number?
300 metres: the height proposed for the original tower.
Credit
Louis-Émile Durandelle, The Eiffel Tower: State of the Construction, 23 November 1888. J. Paul Getty Museum; image via Wikimedia Commons.
Reuse and attribution
Public-domain photograph from the Getty Open Content collection, via Wikimedia Commons. Displayed without cropping. Terms
Published
2026-09-03T00:00:00.000Z

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