The birth of the Eiffel Tower (pictures)

It opened up to visitors in 1889 and was the world's tallest monument for four decades. Since then, more than 250 million people have visited.

Here's one of the founding documents for the tower, thanks to a joint project of the Google Cultural Institute and the Eiffel Tower Operating Company. The organizations dug through archives to chronicle the story of this amazing monument's development.

Gustave Eiffel registered a patent "for a new configuration allowing the construction of metal supports and pylons capable of exceeding a height of 300 metres."

The Champ de Mars and Ecole Militaire from the heights of the Trocadero before the construction of the Eiffel Tower.

Work on the tower foundations began on January 26, 1887. That work finished up four months later.

Drawing of workman excavating the foundation of the tower.

Construction started on July 1, 1887. Workers completed the tower 21 months later.

Temporary wooden scaffolds were used to assemble the first floor of the Eiffel Tower.

Piece by piece, the tower takes shape.

The finished product was made with help from 18,038 metal parts, 5,300 workshop drawings, 50 engineers and draughtsmen, 150 workers employed at the Levallois-Perret factory, between 150 and 300 workers on the construction site, 2,500,000 rivets, 7,300 tons of iron and 60 tons of paint.

Portrait of Portrait de Gustave Eiffel.

The Eiffel Tower remained the world's highest construction until the Chrysler Building was erected in New York in 1930.

High above the city, commerce -- in the form of tchotchkes -- awaits. Even back then.

Two of the original lifts are still in service on the Eiffel Tower today.

A hot ticket at the time. Even hotter today.