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Gare d'Orsay
The Gare d'Orsay (French: [ɡaʁ dɔʁsɛ]) is a former Paris railway station and hotel, built in 1900 to designs by Victor Laloux, Lucien Magne and Émile Bénard, which served as a terminus for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans (Paris–Orléans railway). It was the first electrified urban terminal station in the world, and opened 28 May 1900, in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle.
The station was closed in 1939, eventually being reopened in December 1986 as the Musée d'Orsay, an art museum. The museum is served by the eponymous RER station.
In the early 19th century, the site was occupied by military barracks and the Palais d'Orsay, a governmental building originally built for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The palace was erected over a period of 28 years, from 1810 to 1838, by the architects Jacques-Charles Bonnard and later Jacques Lacorné. After completion, the building was occupied by the Cour des Comptes and the Council of State.
After the fall of the French Second Empire in 1870, the Paris Commune briefly took power from March to May 1871. The archives, library, and artworks were moved to Palace of Versailles and eventually both the Conseil and the Cour des Comptes were rehoused in the Palais-Royal. On the night of 23–24 May 1871, the largely empty Palais d'Orsay was burned by soldiers of the Paris Commune, along with the Tuileries Palace and several other public buildings associated with Napoleon III, an event which was described by Émile Zola in his 1892 novel, La Débâcle. Following the fire, the burnt-out walls of the palace lay derelict for almost 30 years.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans (PO) railway company drew up plans to exploit the opportunities offered by the forthcoming Paris Exposition, which was due to open in 1900. The PO company's railway line from Orléans in southwestern France, opened in 1840, terminated at the Paris Gare d'Orléans station (later renamed Gare d'Austerlitz). The terminus was unfavourably located in the 13th arrondissement, and the PO Company sought to extend its lines from Austerlitz into central Paris. In 1897, the company won government approval to construct a new terminus on the site of the former Palais d'Orsay. A 550 V DC third rail railway line extension was constructed in a 1 km (0.62 mi) cut-and-cover tunnel along the left bank of the Seine from Austerlitz to the Quai d'Orsay.
The new terminal station, originally known as the Gare d'Orléans (Quai d'Orsay), was in a culturally sensitive location, surrounded by elegant buildings such as the Hôtel des Invalides, the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur and the Palais du Louvre. The PO company consulted three architects — Lucien Magne, Émile Bénard and Victor Laloux — to propose plans for a building that would be sympathetic to its surroundings. Laloux's scheme was successful, and the PO engaged him to design a monumental terminal station. Laloux designed the new Gare d'Orsay in a Beaux-Arts style, facing it with large stone blocks and concealing the industrial aspects of the station behind ornate façades, decorated with large stone personification statues representing the railway destinations of Bordeaux, Toulon and Nantes. The building included the 370-room Hotel Palais d'Orsay in the western and southern sides.
The train shed was built as a steel and glass arch over the platforms and passenger concourse, with a span of 40 metres (130 feet) and measuring 138 metres (453 feet) in length and 32 metres (105 feet) wide over the 16 tracks. Passenger facilities incorporated many of the latest technological features, such as electric baggage lifts and escalators.
The electric track system was modelled on the Baltimore Belt Line electrified railway which had been completed in 1895. Engineering was carried out by Compagnie Francaise Thomson-Houston SA, a French subsidiary of the General Electric Company (GE), and the electric locomotives were manufactured by GE with running gear by Alco. The station design was the inspiration for the larger Penn Station in New York City when Alexander Cassatt, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, traveled on his annual trip to Europe in 1901.
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Gare d'Orsay
The Gare d'Orsay (French: [ɡaʁ dɔʁsɛ]) is a former Paris railway station and hotel, built in 1900 to designs by Victor Laloux, Lucien Magne and Émile Bénard, which served as a terminus for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans (Paris–Orléans railway). It was the first electrified urban terminal station in the world, and opened 28 May 1900, in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle.
The station was closed in 1939, eventually being reopened in December 1986 as the Musée d'Orsay, an art museum. The museum is served by the eponymous RER station.
In the early 19th century, the site was occupied by military barracks and the Palais d'Orsay, a governmental building originally built for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The palace was erected over a period of 28 years, from 1810 to 1838, by the architects Jacques-Charles Bonnard and later Jacques Lacorné. After completion, the building was occupied by the Cour des Comptes and the Council of State.
After the fall of the French Second Empire in 1870, the Paris Commune briefly took power from March to May 1871. The archives, library, and artworks were moved to Palace of Versailles and eventually both the Conseil and the Cour des Comptes were rehoused in the Palais-Royal. On the night of 23–24 May 1871, the largely empty Palais d'Orsay was burned by soldiers of the Paris Commune, along with the Tuileries Palace and several other public buildings associated with Napoleon III, an event which was described by Émile Zola in his 1892 novel, La Débâcle. Following the fire, the burnt-out walls of the palace lay derelict for almost 30 years.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans (PO) railway company drew up plans to exploit the opportunities offered by the forthcoming Paris Exposition, which was due to open in 1900. The PO company's railway line from Orléans in southwestern France, opened in 1840, terminated at the Paris Gare d'Orléans station (later renamed Gare d'Austerlitz). The terminus was unfavourably located in the 13th arrondissement, and the PO Company sought to extend its lines from Austerlitz into central Paris. In 1897, the company won government approval to construct a new terminus on the site of the former Palais d'Orsay. A 550 V DC third rail railway line extension was constructed in a 1 km (0.62 mi) cut-and-cover tunnel along the left bank of the Seine from Austerlitz to the Quai d'Orsay.
The new terminal station, originally known as the Gare d'Orléans (Quai d'Orsay), was in a culturally sensitive location, surrounded by elegant buildings such as the Hôtel des Invalides, the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur and the Palais du Louvre. The PO company consulted three architects — Lucien Magne, Émile Bénard and Victor Laloux — to propose plans for a building that would be sympathetic to its surroundings. Laloux's scheme was successful, and the PO engaged him to design a monumental terminal station. Laloux designed the new Gare d'Orsay in a Beaux-Arts style, facing it with large stone blocks and concealing the industrial aspects of the station behind ornate façades, decorated with large stone personification statues representing the railway destinations of Bordeaux, Toulon and Nantes. The building included the 370-room Hotel Palais d'Orsay in the western and southern sides.
The train shed was built as a steel and glass arch over the platforms and passenger concourse, with a span of 40 metres (130 feet) and measuring 138 metres (453 feet) in length and 32 metres (105 feet) wide over the 16 tracks. Passenger facilities incorporated many of the latest technological features, such as electric baggage lifts and escalators.
The electric track system was modelled on the Baltimore Belt Line electrified railway which had been completed in 1895. Engineering was carried out by Compagnie Francaise Thomson-Houston SA, a French subsidiary of the General Electric Company (GE), and the electric locomotives were manufactured by GE with running gear by Alco. The station design was the inspiration for the larger Penn Station in New York City when Alexander Cassatt, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, traveled on his annual trip to Europe in 1901.