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| Photo by Gérard Ducher |
A competition was held in 1894 for the general layout of the Exposition Universelle, for which some 100 projects were considered. The first-prize winner was Eugène Hénard, for whose project the Palace of Industry (constructed for an international exposition in 1855) was to be demolished to make way for a grand exhibition hall (the Grand Palais), a smaller exhibition building (the Petit Palais), and a bridge (Pont Alexandre III). A new street (present-day Avenue Winston-Churchill) connecting the Champs-Élysées to the bridge also was subsequently built. In 1896 a second competition was held for the actual design of the Grand Palais, and this time the award was granted jointly to the four top architects. Henri Deglane, Albert Louvet, and Albert Thomas were each assigned a different portion of the building to design, while the whole project was overseen by Charles Girault. The intention was to link the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais, and the Pont Alexandre III to the Champs-Élysées and to the Hôtel des Invalides across the Seine.
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| Photo by Adam Molata |
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| Photo by Peter Huenten |
The Grand Palais’s stone facades, columns, and friezes exhibit features of Classical design, while the intricate metalwork inside is in the style of classic Art Nouveau. The building is composed of three major areas: the Galeries Nationales, the Palais de la Découverte, and the Nave. The area known as the Nave is an iron-and-steel structure with stone walls, and it is crowned by elegant glass vaults. The Nave’s glass roof constitutes the largest such structure in Europe, reaching a height of 45 metres (150 feet) under its dome and spanning some 200 metres (650 feet) in length. At the heart of the Nave is the Great Staircase. Altogether, the three sections of the Grand Palais cover 72,000 square metres (775,000 square feet).
The Grand Palais is currently the largest existing ironwork and glass structure in the world, a title once held by London's Crystal Palace, which was lost in a fire. This palace with the Belle Epoque-style pinnacle boasts 9,400 tons of steel framework, 15,000 sq. meter (162,000 sq ft) of glass, and about 5,000 square meter (5,400 sq ft) of galvanized iron/zinc roofing. The exterior is made of stone and features beautiful colored mosaics and intricately sculpted statues.
Dedicated “to the glory of French art,” the Grand Palais was intended to showcase the fine arts and France’s leadership in that realm, but it hosts a wide variety of cultural events: from concerts, automobile shows, and fashion shows to fencing tournaments. The Galeries Nationales host major art exhibitions; the Palais de la Découverte, located in the building’s west wing, holds an interactive science museum; and the Nave is the setting for a wide variety of cultural and social events. A restaurant-lounge (the Mini-Palais) is located between the building’s Nave and massive colonnades, and its terrace offers a sweeping view of the surroundings. Located in the south wing of the Grand Palais is CAPE (the Centre d’Accueil de la Presse Étrangère), a press centre for foreign journalists stationed in Paris and a popular setting for press conferences, formal meetings, and public debates.
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| Photo by GIRAUD Patrick |
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| Image from hallofmen.fr |
After one of the Grand Palais' glass ceiling tiles fell in 1993, the building was closed for more than a decade for renovations. The first portion reopened in 2004, the remainder in 2007. Renovations included repair of the metal framework, replacement of the glass, and the repairing and recovering of the roof. The mosaics were also completely repaired and restored.
