Last Updated on May 19, 2025 by Matt Staff
We visit monuments like the Eiffel Tower or Mount Rushmore and rarely stop to think about how they came to be. Before they became global icons, they were ambitious construction projects, built under pressure and often against the odds. Workers balanced on beams, stone was shaped by hand, and each photo tells a piece of the larger story behind these feats of design and determination.
From scaffolding draped across the Statue of Liberty to the towering cranes above the Sydney Opera House, these images capture moments that history books often skip. They remind us that before the fame and admiration, there was grit, labor, and bold vision. Here are 19 vintage photos of the construction of famous monuments.
1. The beginning of the construction of the Eiffel Tower
It took just over two years to build the Eiffel Tower.
2. Constructing the Statue of Liberty, 1884
The Statue of Liberty was built in France and was gifted to the U.S.
3. Constructing Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore took 14 years to complete.
4. Perfecting Abe’s nose
This photo really emphasizes the size of the heads on this monument.
5. The “skeleton” of Lady Liberty
The Statue of Liberty took roughly ten years to build.
6. The original design for Mount Rushmore, 1905
The original design was supposed to go down to the waist.
7. Assembling the head of Christ the Redeemer
This famous monument is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
8. Doing some work on Big Ben
If he messes up and breaks a piece of that glass, it’s a 180-foot drop.
9. Constructing the Lincoln Memorial
The marble for this monument was taken from a town called Marble in Colorado.
10. Building the Sydney Opera House, 1965
This monument took just over 14 years to build.
11. The final piece of the puzzle
This was the final touch put on the St. Louis Arch.
12. Steelworker on the Empire State Building
He clearly doesn’t mind the heights.
13. Putting windows on the Empire State Building
I bet he’s never felt more alive.
14. Carving an eye out in Mount Rushmore
Imagine working on a sculpture this size and having to rappel down to check your work every time.
15. Construction of the Atomium, Brussels, 1957
The Atomium was completed just one year after this photo was taken.
16. Men standing in a 45-ton steel pipe
This photo was taken during the construction of the Hoover Dam, 1935.
17. Construction workers on the Empire State Building
Taking a quick lunch break, hundreds of feet in the air.
18. The sculpting began with the face of Lincoln, 1927
Approximately 400 men and women worked on Mount Rushmore from beginning to finish.
19. Laying the foundations for the Eiffel Tower, 1887
No computers or automation, just genius and hard work.
Want to see more vintage content?
Take a look at 50 Vintage Photos of the 1920s, or check out 37 Vintage Photos of the Late ’70s. If you want to check out what college life was like in the ’70s, take a look at 20 Vintage Photos Of College Life In The 1970s.
