The Paris Olympics As Another Exhibition

Paris was made by four elements, each of which added to the city.

1) Palaces 

2) Napoleon

3) The renovation

4) The exhibitions 

Paris started on the island in the Seine River. This is where the original palace was built, along with Notre Dame which is the city's cathedral. The royal family eventually moved to a new palace not far away on the north side of the river (Right Bank). Before long they moved to an even more magnificent palace to the southwest of Paris. Finally the royal family was overthrown and executed in the revolution of 1789.

All three palaces remain today as vital components of Paris. The first palace, on the island, is called the Conciergerie and is used mainly for judicial purposes. The second palace is today known as the Louvre and is a great art and artifacts museum. The Tuileries Palace, that was attached to the Louvre, was destroyed in the Communard uprising of 1871. The third palace is Versailles.

Napoleon arose out of the French Revolution. His conquests are what filled the Louvre with art and artifacts, and brought ancient Egypt into the world's consciousness. The obelisk in Place Concorde, which is the practical center of Paris, was later brought from Egypt. The two famous arches which form the Historical Axis of Paris, the Arc de Triomphe and Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, are monuments to Napoleon's victories. La Madeleine was built as a temple to the glory of Napoleon's army, but is now a church. The dome of his tomb is prominent on the Left (south) Bank.

Napoleon's nephew, known as Napoleon III or Louis Napoleon, was the first President of France. He was allowed one five year term. When that was over instead of stepping down he simply declared himself as emperor. I am sure that his uncle would have been proud of him and that he would have been great friends with Donald Trump. 

What followed was the massive renovation of Paris that made it into the city that it is today. The old medieval city was razed and the magnificent new Paris built, including the train stations and sewers. Broad boulevards connected the great monuments of the city.

The centerpiece of the renovation was the Opera House, the Palais Garnier. The building is stunning. When I was in Paris I didn't know about it and happened to walk past it. I was just taken aback that a building can be so beautiful.

The last of the four elements is the exhibitions to show the world the great city. 1889 was the centennial of the French Revolution and a great exhibition was planned. With Napoleon's two arches being such an important part of the city a wrought iron entrance arch was to be built that would be the tallest structure the world had ever seen. When the exhibition was over the towering structure was to be dismantled. What I think saved it was that radio had been developed and it was an ideal broadcast site. The structure remains today as the Eiffel Tower.

There was another major exhibition in 1900. Three major structures that were built for the exhibition remain today. On the Right Bank is the Grand Palais, now a general event center, and the Petit Palais, now an art museum. On the Left Bank the train station that was built for that exhibition is now the Orsay Art Museum.

The exhibition of 1937 was on the Right (north) Bank opposite the Eiffel Tower. It must have looked like the Eiffel Tower was part of the exhibition. The Trocadero remains today.

With that background we can see how the 2024 Olympics will add to Paris. It will be essentially another great exhibition and any new buildings for the Olympics will become a part of Paris when the games are over.