How thick and solid are the walls?
The granite and brick base is virtually solid, but the tapered tube above is double walled, with 12 hidden full-length vertical ribs joining the two tubes. The vertical ribs provide stiffness to the inner and outer walls. They act like the flying buttresses in Gothic cathedrals. The double walled design helped keep the tower rigid and the center of gravity low – about a third of the way up. At its base, the tapered outer tube is 46 3/4 inches thick and the inner tube – a true cylinder – is 20 inches thick. 134 feet 4 inches above the ground (even with the top of the sixth landing window), the two walls merge, and, at the bottom of the gallery brackets, the total thickness is 2 inches to 10 inches. The brick inside the lantern housing (watch room and service room) was laid after the lantern was assembled and is less than two feet thick. At its bottom, the outer tube is 32 feet 5 1/2 inches in diameter and, at the bottom of the gallery brackets, it is 17 feet 2 inches. The inside diamete
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