A Story of Iron and Glass

Print depicting ironworks in the 19th century © gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France

At the beginning of the 19th century, France experienced an unprecedented industrial boom. As iron began to be mass-produced, its use in construction became widespread throughout the century. At the same time, the French railway network expanded, requiring new urban infrastructure with a high passenger capacity. Iron, as factory production techniques multiplied, became the material of choice for these structures, which required wide spans, easy admission of light, and slender columns and roof frameworks.

Photograph of the avenue de l'Opéra construction site in 1877 © Charles Malville, gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France

The carpenters' strike of 1845, the advent of the Second Empire in 1852 and the rise of world exhibitions only intensified the use of iron and metal. Previously regarded as a poor material, iron allowed architects to demonstrate its technical and aesthetic potential. A symbol of innovation in the 19th century, it was gradually, then extensively, used for many prestigious public buildings, including department stores, libraries and even churches, which proliferated across the Parisian landscape with Haussmann's major works.

Aerial photograph of the major new thoroughfares in the Opéra district in 1950 © Roger Henrard, Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

Driven by a desire for the city's comprehensive restructuring and a hygienist vision for Paris, Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann radically transformed the capital from 1853 onwards. In particular, they oversaw the construction of monumental buildings at the ends of the major boulevards. Iron became indispensable to construction: it enabled structural and aesthetic feats while signalling modernity. It emerged as a powerful symbol of the industrial, social and economic revolution that defined the 19th century.

Passengers inside Gare Saint-Lazare in 1925 © Agence Rol, gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France

The Western terminus

Gare Saint-Lazare, France's first passenger railway station, symbolises the history of industrialisation and the international influence of French engineering at the time of its construction. Through its location in Paris, this emblematic station also contributed to the modernisation of the urban fabric during the Industrial Revolution.

Gare Saint-Lazare and pont de l'Europe in 1868 © Pierre-Auguste Lamy, Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

Its construction followed the opening in 1837 of the first railway line connecting Paris and Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Initially made of wood, it stood below place de l'Europe. The site then known as the ‘Western terminus’ was rebuilt in its present location in 1842 by architect Alfred Armand and engineer Eugène Flachat. For one of its five train sheds, Eugène Flachat devised a riveting system for assembling metal components. The same system was later used to build the Eiffel Tower. 

The Polonceau truss by Eugène Flachat 

Main concourse © CAUE de Paris

In 1851, the station was enlarged. At Eugène Flachat's initiative, a glass roof was added, featuring a truss system designed by Camille Polonceau, a railway engineer. The iron and cast-iron components were manufactured in a factory and assembled on site. The struts, or connecting rods, are perpendicular to the rafters.

Diagram of the Polonceau truss © CAUE de Paris

The 1885–1887 extensions

Exterior view of Gare Saint-Lazare © Agence Meurisse, gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France

In preparation for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, the Compagnie de l'Ouest undertook major extensions. Juste Lisch, architect to the Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest, was placed in charge of the work. A classically inspired façade was built on the rue Saint-Lazare side. The station forecourt was arranged as two small squares on either side of the Grand Hôtel Terminus, built at the same time. 

Main façade of the Gare Saint-Lazare and Hôtel Terminus complex, viewed from rue de Rome, c. 1883–1893 © Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

Tracks had been added side by side, creating a funnel effect. Considered too short, Eugène Flachat's original sheds were extended using an ingenious system of metal half-trusses that followed the curve of the platforms. These later sheds use lattice trusses: the rafters are formed from small, intersecting metal reinforcing elements, allowing wider spans.

© CAUE de Paris

In 1979, Gare Saint-Lazare was listed as a historic monument. Today, the station has 27 tracks. In 2012, its main concourse was transformed into a shopping centre illuminated by overhead natural light.

Aerial view of Paris: Église Saint-Augustin and place Saint-Augustin in 1952 © Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

The great transformation of Paris

Haussmann's major works, initiated by Napoleon III, radically transformed the Parisian landscape. New districts emerged in areas that had previously been peripheral. Major public and religious buildings were planned there, with locations directly determined by the creation of the surrounding boulevards: the buildings were to stand at their ends. Église Saint-Augustin is one such example, a major work by architect Victor Baltard, known for designing the Halles centrales de Paris.

Lithograph of Église Saint-Augustin at the intersection of two major avenues in 1880 - Michel Charles Fichot © gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France

A favourite of Napoleon III and Haussmann during the Second Empire, Victor Baltard was appointed director-general of public works from 1860 to 1870. He was responsible for the renovation and decoration of around thirty Parisian churches, further developing his already keen interest in religious architecture. At the same time, iron had become widely used in Paris, having proved its worth in passages, markets and railway stations a few years earlier. The material finally found a place in religious buildings. Drawing on his mastery of iron construction, acquired through the Halles project, Victor Baltard built Église Saint-Augustin between 1860 and 1871.

Victor Baltard's religious architecture

Façade of Église Saint-Augustin in 1919 - by Charles Lansiaux © DHAAP

The architect, classically trained yet fascinated by modern methods arising from industrial growth, designed a church that embodies the passionate architectural debates of the 19th century. Moving between a love of Romanesque Revival and Byzantine forms and an ingenious use of iron, he devised an innovative metal structure concealed on the outside beneath Saint-Leu stone cladding. This unique church bears witness to the eclectic style of its time: a blend of periods and a fusion of styles from diverse origins.

Interior view of Église Saint-Augustin in 1868 © Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

Built on a constrained triangular plot, its unusual form reflects the residual spaces left between Haussmann's major new thoroughfares. The architect used this condition to create a narrow, soaring church. Iron was perfectly suited to the task because of its structural properties. Inspired by Italian churches he had seen during his stay at the Villa Médicis, and responding to Napoleon III's request, Baltard crowned the church with an immense dome whose lantern rises to a height of 80 metres.

View from one of the church turrets in 1919 © Charles Lansiaux / DHAAP

It was the first religious building of such scale in Paris to be constructed from iron and cast iron. Their use allowed the architect to dispense with bulky structural elements, creating a choir flooded with light beneath the dome. The church has an original plan, unfolding in a funnel-shaped configuration. Its nave therefore has aisles that gradually widen and are free of buttresses. With massive elements removed from the nave, the metal structures are fully visible and light can pour in.

Plan of Église Saint-Augustin © Ville de Paris - BHVP

The nave contains ribbed cast-iron columns that form the church's skeleton. Attached to the stone by cast-iron clamps, they rise to the barrel vault. The columns themselves support an iron roof structure whose careful, intricate ironwork resembles lace.

Trusses of the iron roof structure © CAUE de Paris

Art at the heart of the design

Although the architect sought to demonstrate the ingenious use of iron in religious architecture, he remained equally committed to creating ornament of every kind. Victor Baltard liked to bring the decorative arts and architecture into dialogue. The church therefore features cast-iron angels made by sculptor Schoenewerk and resting on the pillars.

Cast-iron angels by sculptor Schoenewerk © CAUE de Paris

He also commissioned an eight-metre-diameter rose window in cast iron for the centre of the façade. Finally, he entrusted friends, including François Jouffroy, with creating friezes, frescoes and sculptures for the same façade. The church illustrates the thinking of the century: developing structural rationality while expressing a picturesque language.

The restored church façade © CAUE de Paris

A major project to restore the façade was completed and delivered in 2018. The restoration returned the Saint-Leu stone to its original whiteness and covered the rose window with gold leaf. All 85 glass elements composing it were also restored, cleaned and protected by secondary glazing.

The restored rose window and statues © CAUE de Paris

© CAUE de Paris

The emergence of department stores

Department stores first appeared from the mid-19th century. They flourished with the Industrial Revolution and were inseparable from the development of the railways. 

Printemps and Gare Saint-Lazare © Agence Meurisse, gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France

These department stores, which Émile Zola called ‘cathedrals of modern commerce’ (Au bonheur des dames, 1883), asserted themselves in the urban fabric through their monumental iron-and-glass architecture. The combination of these materials made it possible to create large glazed façades and open floor plates offering vast retail areas. Beyond its structural role, iron became a visible decorative element in beams and staircases. Slender columns provided an unobstructed view of the goods.

Au Printemps, the most elegant shops in Paris - poster by Atelier d'art du Printemps © gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France

The first Printemps building

Printemps was founded in 1865 by Jules and Augustine Jaluzot in a district that was still peripheral and had little retail activity. Nearby Gare Saint-Lazare provided a continuous flow of people, while the construction of Palais Garnier from 1862 to 1875 attracted fashionable customers to the area.

The first building was constructed at the corner of rues de Provence, du Havre and de Caumartin and boulevard Haussmann. In 1881, a fire devastated the store, then lit by gas and candles. It was rebuilt in a Neoclassical style by Paul Sédille, who had already designed the first store. Its curtain walls consist of stone cladding over an iron frame. The plan was arranged around a large central nave, which has since disappeared.

© CAUE de Paris

‘Le Nouveau Magasin’

What was then known as ‘Le Nouveau Magasin’ was built by architect René Binet at the corner of rues Caumartin and de Provence from 1907 to 1910. To ensure consistency, its style is quite close to that of Paul Sédille's building, with rotundas, gilded domes, mosaics, a metal structure, ironwork, sweeping curves and characteristic Art Nouveau features, including female statues and plant motifs. This building was also destroyed by fire in 1921, then rebuilt identically by Georges Wybo. 

Printemps fire in 1921 © Agence Rol, gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France

The dome

In 1910, master glassmaker Eugène Brière oversaw the installation of the first dome's stained glass. Both domes were destroyed in the 1921 fire and subsequently rebuilt identically. The stained glass was removed as a precaution against bombing during the Second World War and stored in a warehouse. The Charras dome was not reassembled until 1972, while the Binet dome was lost when the warehouse burned down in 1996. In an Art Deco style, the present dome depicts a flowering sky. Only four colours, blue, green, gold and pink, are used, but in 21 different shades.

Charras dome © CAUE de Paris

Commercially driven remodelling

To increase retail space, the Sédille hall in the first building was filled in and its glass roof disappeared in the 1930s. The Charras hall was enclosed between 1933 and 1963, and the Binet hall between 1955 and 1975. Openings in the façades were blocked, cutting customers off from the outside world and immersing them in an experience shaped by artificial lighting, causing them to lose track of time. 

Boulevard Haussmann and the store © Roger Henrard, Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

In 1975, the building's architectural and historical value was recognised, making it the first department store to be protected as a historic monument.

Galeries Lafayette between 1895 and 1920 © Charles L'Hôpital et Cie, Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

The birth of Galeries Lafayette

Galeries Lafayette opened 30 years after Printemps Haussmann was built. In 1895, Alphonse Kahn and his cousin Théophile Bader opened a small 70 m² shop at the corner of rue de la Chaussée d'Antin and rue La Fayette. Its location was ideal, close to Gare Saint-Lazare, Palais Garnier and the Grands Boulevards, which attracted crowds of customers every day. 

Successive extensions

Aerial view of Galeries Lafayette in 1951 © Roger Henrard, Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

The store was so successful that its directors decided to purchase the upper floors to expand it. From 1903, architect Georges Chedanne built the present store at the corner of boulevard Haussmann and rue de la Chaussée d'Antin. The building has a stone-clad metal frame. From 1910 to 1912, architect Ferdinand Chanut extended it towards rue de Mogador. 

Byzantine Revival façade, no. 19–23 rue de la Chaussée d’Antin © CAUE de Paris

An unusual section of façade designed by Ferdinand Chanut can be seen at no. 19–23 rue de la Chaussée d'Antin. In a Byzantine Revival style, it features bays with stone-clad metal structures and large glazed openings. Delicate motifs carved into the stone emphasise the composition. It won the City of Paris façade prize in 1913.

No. 19–25 rue de la Chaussée d'Antin by P. Patout © Jean Collas, Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, L'Architecture, no. 11, 1934

No. 25–29 rue de la Chaussée d’Antin, 2025 © CAUE de Paris

Continuing along rue de la Chaussée d'Antin to no. 25–29, architect Pierre Patout modernised the façade in the Art Deco style from 1932 to 1936. He collaborated with René Lalique's workshops to create bow windows, which have since disappeared. Moulded-glass panes formed fluted columns, contrasting with white marble slab cladding attached to a reinforced-concrete wall.

In 1969, Galeries Lafayette expanded again with the opening of a store on rue Mogador. 

The great hall

Balustrades in the great hall © CAUE de Paris

The hall of the main building, at boulevard Haussmann and rue Chaussée d'Antin, rests on ten reinforced-concrete columns. Inspired by the staircase at Opéra de Paris, the balustrade, removed in 1974, was designed by Louis Majorelle. The Belle Époque character lives on today in the Art Nouveau wrought-iron balustrades, also by Louis Majorelle.  

Galeries Lafayette, toys being handed out to neighbourhood children © Agence Meurisse, gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France

The Art Nouveau dome 

Art Nouveau dome © CAUE de Paris

Rising to a height of 43 metres, the Art Nouveau dome of 1910–1912 consists of stained glass forming a flower with ten metal ribs sculpted with floral motifs. Spanning 1,000 m², it was the work of several artists: master glassmaker Jacques Gruber created the Byzantine Revival stained glass, architect Ferdinand Chanut designed the structure, and Édouard Schenck made the ribs. During the Second World War, the stained-glass panels were removed one by one and stored safely to prevent their destruction in a bombing raid. Some were never recovered and were replaced with entirely white panes. 

The shop windows

Granite shop windows © CAUE de Paris

Following their renovation in 1928, the shop windows played a major role in the theatrical presentation of the retail space. The granite ensemble is supported by an eight-centimetre iron frame filled with concrete. The base is dark green granite, while wide frames of pearlescent blue granite with gold inlays surround the windows. Against the façade, the shop windows stand out from a coarse-grained red granite facing.

Bow windows and projecting façade elements © Monumentum, licensed under Creative Commons

The birth of Art Nouveau

At the end of the 19th century, the uniformity of façades resulting from Haussmannian construction prompted some contemporary architects to question established practice and develop new styles. At the same time, construction regulations were reconsidered in response to an increasingly modern city. They allowed greater freedom in architectural expression and in the composition and ornamentation of façades. Freed from classical rules of composition, several prominent architects created buildings conceived as independent objects. This marked the birth of Art Nouveau. These works made extensive use of iron and glass. Iron proved particularly well suited to the creation of fluid forms and patterns, as illustrated by the Galeries Lafayette dome.

Synthesis of the arts

Projecting elements in a Haussmannian streetscape © Monumentum, licensed under Creative Commons

The building at no. 6, home to the Hardmuth company, descended from the inventor of the graphite pencil, is a remarkable example of Art Nouveau. Commissioned from architect François Adolphe Bocage and built between 1907 and 1908, it demonstrates an ingenious combination of the decorative arts, including ironwork and ceramics, with architecture. Its structure consists of a metal frame, concrete infill and ceramic facing. Exceptionally slender, it frees up space for glazing and facilitates the creation of arcades, large rectangular windows and bow windows. These projections, newly permitted by regulations, bring volume and movement to the street and contrast with the uniformity of Haussmannian façades.

Bow windows decorated with octopuses © Passeos Art Nouveau

Although its rectilinear geometry reflects a late Art Nouveau style, the façade is nonetheless richly ornamented, elevating it to the status of a work of art. Architect François Adolphe Bocage, ceramicist Alexandre Bigot and sculptor Camille Alaphilippe placed their signatures on the ground floor of the façade. Architects and craftspeople customarily signed their work to emphasise the distinctive nature of their creations.

From the marine world to the plant kingdom

Details of Alexandre Bigot's ceramic façade © Monumentum, licensed under Creative Commons

Drawing heavily on the marine world, the ceramicist created a profusion of elements in flamed stoneware, clay fired at high temperature: stars, seaweed, shells and marine animals spread across the façade. Traditional crafts were brought back into fashion, and architectural elements such as doors, windows and balconies were fully transformed into works of art in their own right.

Alexandre Bigot's ceramic seaweed and star motifs © Monumentum, licensed under Creative Commons

This dark, mysterious world continues into the hall, with a profusion of floral and plant motifs framing the horseshoe-shaped metal staircase from floor to ceiling. Art Nouveau renewed the use of a broad architectural colour palette, here dominated by dark and purple tones resulting from the high-temperature firing of the stoneware.

Detail of the hall's flamed-stoneware motifs © gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France

The abundant ironwork demonstrates the many possibilities offered by iron. Architects and metalworkers of the period fully embraced its elegance, ornamental qualities and structural reliability.

Ironwork on one of the interior staircases © Monumentum, licensed under Creative Commons

Together, these features led to the building being added to the supplementary inventory of historic monuments almost 70 years later, in 1977. Art Nouveau gave architects the opportunity to legitimise the use of innovative materials capable of remarkable feats. Their status was rehabilitated, paving the way for more extravagant buildings. The façade is currently undergoing restoration of its ceramic decoration, bow windows and architectural metalwork.

Aerial view of Banque de France, Bourse du Commerce and Halles centrales © Henrard Roger, Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

An economic and social model of prosperity

Under the Second Empire and in the mid-19th century, new banks emerged and multiplied across the Parisian landscape. Unlike cities such as London or New York, where entirely new business districts developed, Parisian banks spread through the existing historic urban fabric around the newly laid-out major boulevards. They were located in a district containing many administrative, political and cultural institutions, close to their customers, between Madeleine and Bourse.

Gold deposits at Banque de France © Charles Joseph Antoine Lansiaux, Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

The Napoleonic era saw the establishment of all kinds of civic foundations, including financial institutions. The creation of Banque de France in 1800 was the first sign of this development. For these buildings, clients aspired to grand architecture worthy of Paris's magnificence.

Classical façade of the Crédit Lyonnais head office in 1917 © Charles Joseph Antoine Lansiaux, DHAAP

Numerous banks were established around the Grands Boulevards and place de l'Opéra under Napoleon III, including Crédit Foncier in 1880 and Crédit Lyonnais between 1876 and 1913. The Crédit Lyonnais head office stretches along boulevard des Italiens in an immense building designed in successive phases by architects William Bouwens, André-Félix Narjoux and Victor Laloux. The bank is imbued with classical architecture inspired by the Louvre's façades. At its heart is an immense glass roof made by Gustave Eiffel's workshop and inspired by the architecture of world exhibitions. The entire complex was designed to impress customers.

Crédit Lyonnais façade © CAUE de Paris

Construction of the annex

Although the head office is monumental, its annex was no less carefully conceived as a model of prosperity. André-Félix Narjoux, chief architect of Crédit Lyonnais from 1902 to 1934, made the bold choice of combining iron and brick. Revived by the construction of Baltard's Halles a few decades earlier, this combination of materials was a successful example of structural efficiency and system durability.

Victor Baltard's Halles centrales in 1854 © Charles Marville, gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France

The historicist taste of the Second Empire, which reinstated the use of brick, encountered a desire for renewal through the introduction of iron. Later world exhibitions only confirmed the emergence of this unprecedented architectural style.

Original façade of the Crédit Lyonnais annex in 1981 © DHAAP

Iron as ornament

The annex was built on a plot previously occupied by the Chambre syndicale des agents. Acquired for Crédit Lyonnais in 1906 and completed in 1908, it covered an area of 1,100 m². It housed Crédit Lyonnais's support services: administration, printing, supplies, staff canteen and kitchens.

The building is crowned by a flat roof, only the second of its kind in Paris and a sign of modernity. Its metal structure is visible both inside and out, celebrating the presence of iron. The broad, rounded façade openings spread soft light through the workspaces.

Postcard of the women's dining hall in the Crédit Lyonnais annex, c. 1909 © Ville de Paris/Bibliothèque historique, CP 723 a

Outside, ornament abounds: iron, cut and coiled sheet metal and angle sections can all be seen. The ensemble was originally olive green, a colour typical of period ironwork. The ground floor is ashlar, while the upper floors have brick infill, reflecting the prevailing eclecticism. The chromatic harmony created by the combination of materials and the elegant ironwork led to the façade and roof being listed as historic monuments in September 1977.

Façade of the Crédit Lyonnais annex before its renovation © DHAAP

From industrial architecture to an ultra-modern language

Between 2013 and 2015, a complete restructuring of the city block containing André-Félix Narjoux's annex was launched. At the request of Société Foncière Lyonnaise, which owned the plots in the block, Philippe Chiambaretta's PCA-Stream practice created a business centre across the whole site. The project included two façades protected as historic monuments, Narjoux's façade and one by architect Louis-Denis Le Camus, so the practice worked in close collaboration with the Architectes des Bâtiments de France and the historic monuments authority.

New building façades adjoining the annex © CAUE de Paris

In a comprehensive architectural intervention, all unprotected buildings disappeared and only the listed façades remained: this is known as façadism, an urban practice that preserves historically significant façades within a demolition project. The new façades around the edges of the block are entirely glazed and respect the existing rhythm and alignment of the window bays.

Present façade of the former Crédit Lyonnais annex after renovation © CAUE de Paris

The Narjoux façade was restored by the chief architect for historic monuments. The window and door frames were removed and replaced, notably creating a glazed ground floor. All exposed metal components were painted railway green, further highlighting the red brick cladding.

Façade details of the former Crédit Lyonnais annex © CAUE de Paris

Photograph of the interior of Passage Jouffroy © Jean Marquis, Ville de Paris / Bibliothèque historique, 4-ENA-00162-0037

Parisian phantasmagoria

The architectural type of the passage appeared at the end of the 18th century, a period of economic prosperity and growth in commerce and manufacturing. A little later, architects created spaces dedicated to new patterns of consumption in response to the city's transformation. The boulevards, favourite places for strolling, were complemented by nearby covered passages.

The Grands Boulevards around 1835 © Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

Genuine innovations, these passages adopted a form that plays on the ambiguity between interior and exterior space. They are recognisable by their glass roofs, adjoining shops, carefully designed floors and rich ornamentation.

Postcard of Passage Jouffroy © Ville de Paris / Bibliothèque historique, CPA-4112

Fashionable from the 1850s onwards, their creation resulted from private speculation following the confiscation of clergy and aristocratic property. Purchased by private owners seeking profitable investments, the passages took their names. They were inserted into existing urban fabric, at the heart of city blocks, replacing courtyards, gardens or houses. Passage Jouffroy is one example, built on the former ‘artists' box’: a 19th-century house renowned for its artist residents. In 1836, it was replaced by Hôtel Terrasse Jouffroy, a five-storey building used first by the Turkish embassy and then as the principal residence of one of its princes.

Photograph of the entrance to Passage Jouffroy on the ground floor of Hôtel Terrasse Jouffroy © Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

The passage was cut through the hotel's ground floor in 1846 by architect François-Hippolyte Destailleur and his son-in-law, Romain de Bourges. The clients wanted it to continue Passage des Panoramas of 1799, creating Paris's longest covered promenade, more than 350 metres long. In 1868, Hôtel Terrasse Jouffroy became Hôtel Ronceray, welcoming celebrities from the arts.

Photograph of the present entrance to Passage Jouffroy on the ground floor of Hôtel Ronceray © CAUE de Paris

The first metal passage

Passage Jouffroy was the first Parisian passage built of iron and glass, and therefore belongs to the category known as ‘metal passages’. They are recognisable by their all-iron-and-glass structures and the gradual abandonment of lavish ornamentation characteristic of the first generation of passages. Applied to private buildings, iron made considerable space savings possible.

Photograph of Passage Jouffroy in 1919 © Charles Lansiaux, DHAAP

Although wood was still used for shopfront frames and skirting boards, it played no structural role. Its gradual disappearance reflects a growing desire to express metal structures openly. The shopfronts, plainer than those in the earliest Renaissance-style passages, have no arcades. Modern in its materials, the passage was also innovative for its creation of the first underfloor heating system. The vents can be seen between the tiles, although they are no longer in use today.

Wooden interior façade of the first floor © CAUE de Paris

In this restrained setting, only two clocks serve as ornament, showing the time to travellers moving between stations. The metal structure consists of cast-iron columns rising to the glass roof and supporting the floors. The 140-metre-long passage is covered by a herringbone vault. It is self-supporting and made from molten glass cast cold. Advances in glass-manufacturing techniques and industrial processes were harnessed for the passage. Ventilation is provided by a roof lantern running the full length of the ridge.

Present view of the glass roof and its lantern © CAUE de Paris

The passage as a utopian place

Thirty years after its construction, Passage Jouffroy fell victim to its own success, particularly following the opening of Musée Grévin in 1882, the famous waxwork museum. The passage was also known for its unusual attractions: a puppet theatre, a café-theatre, a dance hall and even an American buffet. At the time, these activities made it famous and continued to attract public figures.

Invitation to a Paris dinner in Passage Jouffroy, c. 1850 © Ville de Paris / Bibliothèque historique, 1-EST-02081

Aware of its heritage value, the City of Paris continues to preserve and maintain the passage by contributing financially to its restoration. In 1987, it was renovated to reinstate its original chequerboard floor. Passage Jouffroy has been included in the supplementary inventory of historic monuments since 1974. It has belonged to Immobilière Dassault since 2018, a property company specialising in holding real-estate assets.

Photograph of the interior of Passage Verdeau © Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Paris Projet, Paris, 1976

The three-passage property development

Passage Verdeau formed part of the same property development as Passage Jouffroy in 1846, during the Restoration. Named after Jean-Baptiste-Ossian Verdeau, a shareholder in the passage company, the development extended Passage des Panoramas and Passage Jouffroy. Although located near Opéra, Madeleine and Saint Lazare, new centres of activity under Louis Philippe, the passage struggled to attract passers-by. It nevertheless provided a shortcut between rue de la Grange Batelière and rue du Faubourg Montmartre, as well as a covered space sheltered from the bustle of the Grands Boulevards.

Drawing of the passage entrance in 1875 © Léon Leymonnerye, Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

Built by architect Jacques Deschamps, it displays a late Neoclassical style that distinguishes it from its neighbours. Its restrained decoration has remained virtually unchanged since construction. By favouring a return to simplicity and symmetry, and using smooth surfaces, the design freed up the shopfronts for large areas of glazing.

Photograph of the glass roof and first floor © CAUE de Paris

The large cast-iron columns supporting the floors made it possible to create a glazed second level as high as the first. An all-metal barrel-vaulted glass roof rises above these glazed façades, following the model of Passage Jouffroy. This self-supporting roof makes it one of the brightest and most open passages in Paris.

Photograph of the passage's glass roof © CAUE de Paris

The lantern at its apex ventilates the passage. This ventilation system is made possible by the form of the surrounding buildings: the upper floors are set back, allowing air to circulate around the glass roof.

Photograph of the ventilation system © Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Paris Projet, Paris, 1976

The arrival of Hôtel des ventes Drouot

The passage gained a new lease of life with the creation of Hôtel des ventes Drouot in 1852. Built on the site of the former Ferme de la Grange Batelière, this auction house is an internationally renowned art marketplace. Antique dealers saw Passage Verdeau as the ideal place to set up their shops. Rare stamps and toys can be found there. Collectors flock to uncover hidden treasures! Its unusual specialist shops give each passage a distinctive character and reputation.

Façade of the auction house at the corner of 9 rue Drouot and rue Rossini in 1919 © Léon Leymonnerye, Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

Preserving a distinctive built heritage

While some passages that were too narrow were demolished and replaced by Haussmann's broad road network, Passage Verdeau retains its original appearance today. The French Ministry of Culture acquired it. At 75 metres long, set within historic urban fabric and endowed with remarkable architectural qualities, the building was listed as a historic monument in July 1974.

Photograph of the passage © CAUE de Paris

Like Passage Jouffroy, it is one of the few passages maintained or renovated in Paris. Today, it primarily serves as a convenient, quick route for pedestrians living nearby.

Photograph of the church exterior in 1921 © Charles Lansiaux, DHAAP

A pioneering iron-and-glass church

Église Saint-Eugène Sainte-Cécile, built by architect Louis-Auguste Boileau in 1855, is a renowned exemplary model of iron church construction. It was the first church whose structure was built mainly of iron and cast iron.

Interior view of the church © ‘L'église Saint-Eugène à Paris’, H. Lebrun & Cie edition, 1856 - Bibliothèque Municipale de Lyon

A pioneer in the field, the architect, a former carpenter and author of the 1853 work ‘Nouvelles formes architecturales’, devised a structural system of metal arches, vaults and columns for churches. The clients wanted to erect a permanent church in the Faubourg Poissonnière that was not made of wood. Budget and schedule constraints also encouraged the use of iron: it was half the price and much quicker than stone construction. 

Schematic section of the church's structural system © CAUE de Paris

Selected for the commission, the architect built the church on the former Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs, which had served as a royal furniture repository in the 18th and 19th centuries. Completed in a record time of 20 months, its construction generated considerable enthusiasm in the press, both for the efficiency of the work and the technical feat achieved. Newspaper articles encouraged the use of this innovative material in public and religious buildings.

Plan of the church by draughtsman Lèbe Sigun in 1861 © Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

The architect was commissioned to create ‘a church in the style of the late 13th century, but using cast iron and iron to replace stone pillars and ribs’ (L'église Saint-Eugène à Paris, published in 1856). Assisted by his two sons, he built the church in a Gothic Revival style to which cast iron and iron were perfectly suited. However, the Gothic language is visible only in its aesthetic and architectural forms, notably the pastiche façade, pointed arches and abundance of stained glass. The structural systems, meanwhile, made it possible to dispense with the flying buttresses and massive buttresses typical of Gothic churches. 

Interior view of the central nave in 1921 © Charles Lansiaux, DHAAP

Aesthetic and acoustic properties

The church expresses its monumentality through both its interior proportions, 50 metres long by 25 metres wide, and the abundance of its ornament. Metal structures proliferate and actively contribute to the decoration through a strongly defined colour scheme. Gigantic ribbed columns of hollow cast iron, originally painted steel blue and Florentine bronze, form the church's skeleton. The structure's extreme slenderness opens up views across the entire interior. 

Ribbed cast-iron columns © CAUE de Paris

The longitudinal and transverse trusses and the ribs of the great nave are made of iron, forming a very lightweight roof structure without a timber roof space and with drastically reduced mass. The vaults between the bays are covered with masonry tiles and finished with plaster. Their colouring sets this church apart and gives it a striking celestial character through its star patterns. By improving the acoustics of the space, the use of iron ensures that preachers' voices are not obstructed during services, while the arrangement of the vaults helps project the sound of voices and the organ.

Vaults painted golden yellow © CAUE de Paris

A picturesque language

The adjoining galleries, window decoration and tribunes are made of cast iron painted gold and red. Louis-Charles Boileau, one of the architect's two sons and a sculptor, designed the chandeliers, tribune staircases and furniture in cast iron and wood. The numerous carved timber elements and polychrome paintings further embellish the adjoining naves and aisles. The 48 large stained-glass windows are also richly coloured and express the Gothic style at work. Finally, the church's great organ was designed for the 1850 Exposition Universelle, a sign of modernity and renewal in the design of ornament.

Vaults painted golden yellow © CAUE de Paris

The church was listed as a historic monument in 1983. The painted decoration was fully restored in 1984, followed by several comprehensive restorations. The latest, by Opus architectes, is restoring the side façades and roof.