He didn't build the clock tower you silly boy. He just got his picture taken in front of it, harnessed the power of the lightning that struck it and watched as Griff flew through the window of it.
Incidently, it wasn't until 1886 that an economically viable process was developed to extract aluminium.
You're just a fountain of time-travel knowledge, you.
Speaking of which, I bet the critics of Paris soon wished they had a time-machine in 1889, when they declared the newly inaugurated Eiffel Tower to be aesthetically displeasing. Lawks!