Editing Eiffel Tower (section)

===Construction===
[[File:Les fondations de la Tour Eiffel, maçonneries.jpg|thumb|right|[[Foundation (engineering)|Foundations]] of the Eiffel Tower, photographed in 1887]]

Work on the foundations started on 28 January 1887.<ref name=origins>{{cite web |url=http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/themed-files/69.html |title=Origins and construction of the Eiffel Tower |author=SETE |website=Official Eiffel Tower website |access-date=1 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731073057/http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/themed-files/69.html |archive-date=31 July 2015 }}</ref> Those for the east and south legs were straightforward, with each leg resting on four {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} concrete slabs, one for each of the principal girders of each leg. The west and north legs, being closer to the river [[Seine]], were more complicated: each slab needed two [[deep foundation|piles]] installed by using compressed-air [[caisson (engineering)|caisson]]s {{convert|15|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} in diameter driven to a depth of {{convert|22|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref>Loyrette, 1985 p. 123.</ref> to support the concrete slabs, which were {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} thick. Each of these slabs supported a block of [[limestone]] with an inclined top to bear a supporting shoe for the ironwork.

Each shoe was anchored to the stonework by a pair of bolts {{convert|10|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} in diameter and {{convert|7.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} long. The foundations were completed on 30 June, and the erection of the ironwork began. The visible work on-site was complemented by the enormous amount of exacting preparatory work that took place behind the scenes: the drawing office produced 1,700 general drawings and 3,629 detailed drawings of the 18,038 different parts needed.<ref>Loyrette, 1985 p. 148.</ref> The task of drawing the components was complicated by the complex angles involved in the design and the degree of precision required: the position of rivet holes was specified to within {{convert|1|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} and angles worked out to one [[arcsecond|second of arc]].<ref>Eiffel, G; The Eiffel TowerPlate X</ref> The finished components, some already riveted together into sub-assemblies, arrived on horse-drawn carts from a factory in the nearby Parisian suburb of [[Levallois-Perret]] and were first bolted together, with the bolts being replaced with rivets as construction progressed. No drilling or shaping was done on site: if any part did not fit, it was sent back to the factory for alteration. In all, 18,038 pieces were joined using 2.5&nbsp;million rivets.<ref name=origins/>

At first, the legs were constructed as [[cantilever]]s, but about halfway to the first level construction was paused to create a substantial timber [[scaffold]]. This renewed concerns about the structural integrity of the tower, and sensational headlines such as "Eiffel Suicide!" and "Gustave Eiffel Has Gone Mad: He Has Been Confined in an Asylum" appeared in the tabloid press.<ref>Harvie, 2006 p. 110.</ref> Multiple famous artists of that time, [[Charles Garnier (architect)|Charles Garnier]] and [[Alexandre Dumas fils|Alexandre Dumas]], thought poorly of the newly made tower. Charles Garnier thought it was a "truly tragic street lamp". Alexandre Dumas said that it was like "Odius shadow of the odious column built of rivets and iron plates extending like a black blot". There were multiple protests over the style and the reasoning of placing it in the middle of Paris.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-30 |title=Eiffel Tower history, architecture, design & construction |url=https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/the-monument/history |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www.toureiffel.paris |language=en-US}}</ref> At this stage, a small "creeper" [[crane (machine)|crane]] designed to move up the tower was installed in each leg. They made use of the guides for the lifts which were to be fitted in the four legs. The critical stage of joining the legs at the first level was completed by the end of March 1888.<ref name=origins/> Although the metalwork had been prepared with the utmost attention to detail, provision had been made to carry out small adjustments to precisely align the legs; [[hydraulic]] [[Jack (device)|jacks]] were fitted to the shoes at the base of each leg, capable of exerting a force of 800 tonnes, and the legs were intentionally constructed at a slightly steeper angle than necessary, being supported by [[Sand box (civil engineering)|sandboxes]] on the scaffold. Although construction involved 300 on-site employees,<ref name=origins/> due to Eiffel's safety precautions and the use of movable gangways, guardrails and screens, only one person died.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wonders-of-the-world.net/Eiffel-Tower/Construction-of-the-Eiffel-tower.php|work=wonders-of-the-world.net|title=Construction of the Eiffel Tower}}</ref>

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<gallery mode="packed" heights="125px">
File:Construction tour eiffel.JPG|18 July 1887:<br />The start of the erection of the metalwork
File:Construction tour eiffel2.JPG|7 December 1887:<br />Construction of the legs with scaffolding
File:Construction tour eiffel3.JPG|20 March 1888:<br />Completion of the first level
File:Construction tour eiffel4.JPG|15 May 1888:<br />Start of construction on the second stage
File:Construction tour eiffel5.JPG|{{nowrap|21 August 1888:}}<br />Completion of the second level
File:Construction tour eiffel6.JPG|26 December 1888:<br />Construction of the upper stage
File:Construction tour eiffel7.JPG|{{nowrap|15 March 1889:}}<br />Construction of the [[cupola]]
</gallery>