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Post by kerouac2 on May 21, 2023 20:05:29 GMT
Hangar Y is the first hangar ever built for dirigeables, one of the largest in the world, and one of the only ones still in existence. It was built for the 1878 World's Fair in Paris and then taken apart brick by brick in 1879 before being reassembled in Meudon. It was used for the first time in 1884 but was basically only a gimmick. It was used for storage of various items from 1921 to 1973 by the French Air museum until it moved to Le Bourget. Marc Chagall used it in 1964 to put together the new ceiling for the Opéra Garnier. In 2007, it was all falling apart with the windows broken and the structure starting to twist, even though it had been classified as a national monument in 2000. Putting it back together took a lot of time and money, and it was opened to the public on 21 March 2023.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 21, 2023 22:02:23 GMT
Oh, this is interesting! Looking at the pictures, my thought was, "Why is it so tall?  |
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Post by kerouac2 on May 22, 2023 4:10:41 GMT
For its inaugural exhibit, the Hangar Y made the obvious choice of the history of aviation.  This jet plane looks like a sure way to die fast.  Even a Tour de France champion would never get this off the ground.   Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont gets his due, of course.  Although women's bracelets with little clocks eixsted long ago, Santos-Dumont is credited with popularising the wristwatch for men. In early aviation, it was not possible to consult a pocket watch and fly a plane safely at the same time.  
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Post by bjd on May 22, 2023 5:37:29 GMT
Interesting to see these things reused. It reminds me of the Riga Central Market which is old zeppelin hangars. |
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Post by mickthecactus on May 22, 2023 6:43:57 GMT
We have one at Cardington in Bedford which briefly returned to dirigible flight in the 1980’s but it never got off the ground.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 22, 2023 14:23:33 GMT
120 years ago, there were board games about the excitement of flying.  On the other hand, there were almost no paintings depicting airplanes. The object was too jarring in the landscape.  When a hot air balloon is totally deflated, it doesn't look like much.  a huge oriental carpet depicting a Lebanese air mail stamp   Trying to make some of these attempted flying machines as light as possible only made them too flimsy to fly.  The Graf Zeppelin was luckier than the Hindenburg but it still put an end to dirigeables full of hydrogen.  |
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Post by bixaorellana on May 23, 2023 3:46:28 GMT
That video is other worldly, even though I know it's real. I watched the one on autoplay after it, about what happened to the Hindenburg. Horribly, the disaster seems so inevitable.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 23, 2023 6:14:17 GMT
Anyway, this place is not destined to become a major museum, even though it will continue to have exhibitions. It is clear from their website that they will privatise the space for a lot of functions, so you can expect to see the Hangar Y at the Paris Fashion Week and things like that. In any case, it is open to the public only on the weekends and during school holidays. One thing that already has a lot of fans is the augmented reality experience. I'm sorry but I continue to find this creepy.  I immediately think of the cybermen in Doctor Who.   It's probably time to leave the past behind.  They're going to control us all sooner or later.   As I left, I saw that the back side of the building shows its age better. It also bears an old plaque saying "Bâtiment Y."  |
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Post by bjd on May 23, 2023 6:37:25 GMT
I agree with you -- those people with their headsets look really creepy. I can imagine them being controlled by a voice telling them where to go.
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Post by lugg on May 23, 2023 18:40:44 GMT
I am with you both on the augmented reality aspect. But it is a fascinating place and so good to see it has been saved , even if for various purposes. I had not heard of the Graf Zeppelin before , fascinating .
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Post by bixaorellana on May 25, 2023 16:14:23 GMT
The back side of the building is indeed a beautiful example of the architecture of that period. Maybe the decision to make the front side as it is now was partly economic, but also a good way to let more light into the very deep area. Anyway, this place is not destined to become a major museum, even though it will continue to have exhibitions. It is clear from their website that they will privatise the space for a lot of functions, so you can expect to see the Hangar Y at the Paris Fashion Week and things like that. In any case, it is open to the public only on the weekends and during school holidays. One thing that already has a lot of fans is the augmented reality experience. I'm sorry but I continue to find this creepy. It seems admirably farsighted for the museum to plan more exhibitions & also to rent it out in order to generate revenue. Is this a private concern, or a government project? The augmented reality thing is quite intriguing and obviously a hit. What a good idea to include something that would appeal to all age groups. They don't look any more creepy than people who stand in a daze in conventional museums, transfixed by the tinny voice coming from their museum-supplied recorded guides. |
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Post by kerouac2 on May 25, 2023 16:33:18 GMT
It is owned by the government but leased to a private enterprise controlled by a real estate company.
As a hangar, I imagine that the front of the building always had to be able to be opened completely, probably with big wooden or steel doors rather than the new glass front.
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Post by onlyMark on May 25, 2023 19:10:49 GMT
Saw a Goodyear airship yesterday. Not see one for years. I'll ask a daughter for the photo she took.
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