Palais du Trocadéro
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
The old Palais du Trocadéro
The hill of Chaillot was first arranged for the 1867 World's Fair.
For the 1878 World's Fair, the (old) Palais du Trocadéro was built here (where meetings of international organizations could be held during the fair). The palace's form was that of a large concert hall with two wings and two towers; its style was a mixture of exotic and historical references, generally called "Moorish" but with some Byzantine elements. The architect was Gabriel Davioud. The concert hall contained a large organ built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, the first large organ to be installed in a concert hall in France. It was removed to a hall in Lyon and subsequently destroyed by fire. The building proved unpopular, though the cost expended in its construction delayed its replacement for nearly fifty years.
Below the building, in the space left by former underground quarries, a large aquarium was built to contain fishes of French rivers. It was renovated in 1937 for the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937) but closed again for renovation in 1985. The space between the palais and the Seine is set with gardens, designed by Jean-Charles Alphand, and an array of fountains.
