The tower's design was ahead of its time. A time capsule was buried under the foundation stone on 25 September 1891. At the summit of the tower there is a flagpole where the height at the top measures 518 feet 9 inches (158.12 m) from the ground. The building occupies a total of 6,040 square yards (1.25 acres 5,050 m 2). Its base is hidden by the building that houses Blackpool Tower Circus. Unlike the Eiffel Tower, Blackpool Tower is not freestanding. Five million Accrington bricks, 3,478 long tons (3,534 t) of steel and 352 long tons (358 t) of cast iron were used to construct the tower and base. The total cost for the design and construction of the tower and buildings was about £290,000. A new system of hydraulic riveting was used, based on the technology of Fielding & Platt of Gloucester. Heenan & Froude, then of Manchester, were appointed structural engineers, supplying and constructing both the tower, the electric lighting and the steel front pieces for the aquariums. By the time the Tower finally opened on, both men had died. Two Lancashire architects, James Maxwell and Charles Tuke, designed the tower and oversaw the laying of its foundation stone on 29 September 1891.
When the Tower opened in 1894, its success justified the investment of nearly £300,000, and the company made a £30,000 profit in 1896. He also released the Standard Corporation from its share commitments. Bickerstaffe, to avoid the potential collapse of the venture, bought any available shares until his original holding of £500 amounted to £20,000.
The Standard Corporation kept 30,000 £1 shares and offered £150,000 worth of shares to the public initially only two-thirds were taken up, forcing the company to ask for more cash contributions from its existing shareholders, but the poor financial situation of the company, exacerbated by the falling share price, rendered it unable to pay. John Bickerstaffe, a former mayor of Blackpool, was asked to become chairman of the new company, and its shares went on sale in July 1891. The Blackpool Tower Company was founded by London-based Standard Contract & Debenture Corporation in 1890 it bought an aquarium on Central Promenade with the intention of building a replica Eiffel Tower on the site.
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