Rising from the Earth: The First Level

On July 1, 1887, the first iron pieces began arriving at the Champ de Mars. The assembly process Eiffel devised was revolutionary in its efficiency. Rather than building scaffolding to the full height—impossible at 300 meters—he designed the tower to be its own scaffolding.

The first challenge was joining the four separate legs into a unified structure at the 57-meter first platform. Until this junction was complete, each leg stood independently, held in place by temporary wooden scaffolding and hydraulic jacks that could adjust positioning down to the millimeter.

Eiffel appointed four chief foremen, one for each pillar, creating healthy competition. The east pillar team, led by Jean Compagnon, developed a rhythm that became legendary. Compagnon, the son of a carpenter, applied woodworking precision to ironwork. His team could install and rivet 40 pieces in a day, while maintaining perfect accuracy.

The diversity of the workforce created a unique culture. Workers shared food from their homelands—Italian pasta, Breton crêpes, Algerian couscous—creating impromptu international lunches. Despite language barriers, they developed a pidgin of technical terms mixed with gestures that allowed seamless communication.