Famous landmarks and tourist attractions like Disneyland and the Eiffel Tower under construction, in photos

Elias ChavezJan 14, 2024, 00:27 IST

A side by side photo of Mt. Rushmore at the beginning of construction and after completion.R: FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images L: R. Krubner/ClassicStock/Getty Images

The Sagrada Familia is still being built 140 years after construction started.
An architect named Gustave Eiffel worked on both the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower.

Fame doesn't happen overnight, even less so when it has to be built from the ground up. When it comes to iconic landmarks across the world, it takes even longer.

The Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and the Sagrada Familia are just a few of the iconic structures that were erected in the 19th century considered to be both artistic and architectural feats.

Though each of these landmarks took a considerable amount of time to be finished — and in some cases, are still being built — they have made a lasting impression on the history and future of art and architecture.

The construction of the Eiffel Tower was a race against time.

The Eiffel tower rushes to completion ahead of its debut at the Worlds fair of 1889.Henry Guttmann Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

While the foundations were being set, the rest of the tower was prefabricated in a nearby workshop.

Picture showing the building of the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1888.AFP via Getty Images

The Eiffel Tower has been an enduring landmark since its debut in 1889.

The Eiffel tower as it stands now in 2023.Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images

The planning, building, funding, and installment of the Statue of Liberty was a 20-year endeavor.

The Statue of Liberty in two pieces as it waits to be put togetherHUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

In order to raise money for the pedestal, patrons could pay 50 cents to go to the top of the right arm which was displayed at the first World's Fair in 1876.

The left hand of the Statue of Liberty in the workshop in France.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was erected on its pedestal 20 years after it was originally conceived.

A photo of President Franklin D. Roosevelt stands in front of the Statue of Liberty for its 50th anniversary.Imagno/Getty Images

In total, the construction of Christ the Redeemer took nine years.

Workers put the finishing touches on Christ the Redeemer.Bettmann/Getty Images.

The statue was dedicated and unveiled on October 28, 1931.

The sun rising in front of Christ the Redeemer statue.CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images

The Louvre was first constructed in the 12th century by Phillip II as a fortress to defend the western edge of Paris.

The leftover materials from the Louvre's original purpose as a fortress.Barbara Alper/Getty Images

In 1988, I.M. Pei was hired to renovate the Louvre and installed his controversial glass pyramid.

An onlooker watches the renovation of the Louvre.PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP via Getty Images

The Glass Pyramid has since become iconic and now serves as the main entrance for the museum.

A young woman poses in front of the Glass Pyramid of the Louvre.Mika Volkmann/Getty Images

Mount Rushmore was a sacred area for the Indigenous population of the Great Plains.

Mount Rushmore before the faces were sculpted into them.FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Doane Robinson, a historian at the South Dakota State Historical Society, tapped the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, to work on Mount Rushmore.

Gutzon Borglum working on a model of Mt. Rushmore.George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images

The monument was never technically finished according to the vision of Borglum, who died in March of 1941.

Mount Rushmore as it stands in the present day.Andrew Woodley/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

When Disneyland was first created, it was just a small amusement park surrounded by farmland in Anaheim, California.

Disneyland from above the year it opened in 1955.American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images

Disneyland in Anaheim now has more than 100 attractions and experiences available at the park.

An aerial view of Disneyland in 2012.DigitalGlobe via Getty Images via Getty Images

The Sagrada Familia is the famously unfinished church in Barcelona, Spain.

The base of the Sagrada Familia during its construction in 1887.PHAS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Gaudi believed that the construction of the church would take 200 years.

Work continues on the Sagrada Familia.Roger Viollet Collection/Getty Images

On October 3, 2023, the Church completed the construction of the fifth of its six central towers.

The Sagrada Familia in its current form.Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Empire State Building was built on the original location of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

The Empire State Building near its completion.Charles Phelps Cushing/ClassicStock/Getty Images

The building has since become an iconic landmark of New York City and a fixed point in the city's skyline.

A view of the Manhattan skyline with the Empire State Building in the center.Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

Vintage photos show what it was like to work in a US car factory a century ago

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