The Eiffel Tower construction started in 1887 after 4 years of feasibility studies by Gustave Eiffel & Cie as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, World's fair, celebrating the centenary of the French Revolution and was completed after 2 years, 2 months and 5 days in 1889.
Originally, Eiffel had a permit to leave the tower standing for 20 years, more than recouping his expenses, but, as it proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to stay after the end of the permit.

The Architect was Stephen Sauvestre and engineered by Maurice Koechlin & Emile Nouguier.
The Tower framework originally consisted of 18,038 individual erected items weighing in at 7,300 tons, and currently stands at a total height of 324m which includes the antenna. It was the tallest building in the world until the Chrysler Building in New York was completed in 1930.

Between the years 1980 - 1985 an ambitious program of restoration was undertaken and
the structure was strengthened, while 1,343 tons of unnecessary materials were removed.
New elevators were added going from the second floor to the top, with new panoramic restaurants and
new illuminations which project light from the Tower structure interior.

The Tower was originally painted red, and after 18 full paint jobs of various shades, has a current, more subtle colour known as 'Eiffel Tower Brown'. It has been completely repainted every 7 years, using approximately 55 tons of paint, and the 'extra' weight of the paint amounts to 700 tons.