Art Deco in Paris- the 17th to be precise...
Jun 28, 2016 14:46:10 GMT
Post by HelloBamboo on Jun 28, 2016 14:46:10 GMT
I know quite a few of you enjoy architectural sightseeing. I recently did a photo trip in the 17th, between the Boulevards des Maréchaux and the Periph, near Porte de Champerret.
Interestingly enough, this area was only developed in the 1920 once the last city wall had been torn down...
The last city wall of Paris, known as the Thiers Wall, was built in the 1840s to keep those pesky Prussians out. The wall didn't last long. After World War I it was abundantly clear that a wall was useless when the enemy could simply fly over it. And so the Thiers Wall was demolished, starting in 1919.
The Thiers Wall ran outside what's still known as the Boulevards des Maréchaux, a ring of boulevards that encircles Paris. The demolition left a stretch of no-man's land as no building had been allowed near the wall (a bit like Berlin post-1989.) The far end of this urban wasteland became the Périphérique ring road, which still separates haughty Parisians from the riffraff in the suburbs.
This ring of vacant land around Paris quickly attracted development. And so, at the height of the Art Deco area, here was a whole stretch of land waiting to be filled...
Many prime examples of Art Deco are grandiose theaters, cinemas and palaces. But the Art Deco buildings here are vernacular architecture: apartment blocks- spacious and comfortable, and with mod-cons like lifts, which were absent in the older buildings in central Paris.
Many of the doors are very impressive.
What's is so typically French in this expression of Art Deco is the use of stylized flowers, leaves and fruits. Minor Sights hasn't seen this rather folksy form of Art Deco outside of France- and it's a form that can be found not just on these buildings but also in furniture, which is still easily found in the city's antique markets, like the Puces de St Ouen
For more images and the full story, please check out the full article here.
Interestingly enough, this area was only developed in the 1920 once the last city wall had been torn down...
The last city wall of Paris, known as the Thiers Wall, was built in the 1840s to keep those pesky Prussians out. The wall didn't last long. After World War I it was abundantly clear that a wall was useless when the enemy could simply fly over it. And so the Thiers Wall was demolished, starting in 1919.
The Thiers Wall ran outside what's still known as the Boulevards des Maréchaux, a ring of boulevards that encircles Paris. The demolition left a stretch of no-man's land as no building had been allowed near the wall (a bit like Berlin post-1989.) The far end of this urban wasteland became the Périphérique ring road, which still separates haughty Parisians from the riffraff in the suburbs.
This ring of vacant land around Paris quickly attracted development. And so, at the height of the Art Deco area, here was a whole stretch of land waiting to be filled...
Many prime examples of Art Deco are grandiose theaters, cinemas and palaces. But the Art Deco buildings here are vernacular architecture: apartment blocks- spacious and comfortable, and with mod-cons like lifts, which were absent in the older buildings in central Paris.
Many of the doors are very impressive.
What's is so typically French in this expression of Art Deco is the use of stylized flowers, leaves and fruits. Minor Sights hasn't seen this rather folksy form of Art Deco outside of France- and it's a form that can be found not just on these buildings but also in furniture, which is still easily found in the city's antique markets, like the Puces de St Ouen
For more images and the full story, please check out the full article here.
