Gare d'Orsay | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy rail | |||||
 1909 postcard: "La Gare d'Orleans (the Gare d'Orsay) et Quai d'Orsay" | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Quai d'Orsay/Rue de Lille 75343 Paris, France | ||||
| Coordinates | 48°51′37″N2°19′31″E / 48.860283°N 2.325392°E /48.860283; 2.325392 | ||||
| Owned by |
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| Line(s) | Paris–Bordeaux railway | ||||
| Tracks | 16 | ||||
| Construction | |||||
| Architect | Victor Laloux | ||||
| Architectural style | Beaux-Arts | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | 1900 | ||||
| Closed | 1939 | ||||
| Previous names | Gare d'Orléans (Quai d'Orsay) | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1986 | Reopened as theMusée d'Orsay | ||||
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TheGare d'Orsay (French:[ɡaʁdɔʁsɛ]) is a formerParis railway station and hotel, built in 1900 to designs byVictor Laloux,Lucien Magne andÉmile Bénard; it served as a terminus for theChemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans (Paris–Orléans railway). It was the firstelectrified urbanterminal station in the world, opened 28 May 1900, in time for the1900 Exposition Universelle.[1]
After its closure as a station, it reopened in December 1986 as theMusée d'Orsay, an art museum. The museum is currently served by theeponymous RER station.
In the early 19th century, the site was occupied by military barracks and thePalais d'Orsay [fr], a governmental building originally built for theMinistry of Foreign Affairs. The palace was erected over a period of 28 years, from 1810 to 1838, by the architectsJacques-Charles Bonnard and laterJacques Lacorné. After completion, the building was occupied by theCour des Comptes and theCouncil of State.[2][3]
After the fall of theFrench Second Empire in 1870, theParis Commune briefly took power from March to May 1871. The archives, library, and artworks were moved toPalace of Versailles and eventually both theConseil and theCour des Comptes were rehoused in thePalais-Royal. On the night of 23–24 May 1871, the largely empty Palais d'Orsay was burned by soldiers of the Paris Commune, along with theTuileries Palace and several other public buildings associated withNapoleon III,[2] an event which was described byÉmile Zola in his 1892 novel,La Débâcle. Following the fire, the burnt-out walls of the palace lay derelict for almost 30 years.[4][3]
Towards the end of the 19th century, theCompagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans (PO) railway company drew up plans to exploit the opportunities offered by the forthcomingParis Exposition, which was due to open in 1900. The PO company's railway line fromOrléans in southwestern France, opened in 1840, terminated at the Paris Gare d'Orléans station (later renamedGare d'Austerlitz). The terminus was unfavourably located in the13th arrondissement, and the PO Company sought to open extend its lines from Austerlitz into central Paris. In 1897, the company won government approval to construct a new terminus on the site of the former Palais d'Orsay. A 550VDCthird rail railway line extension was constructed in a 1 km (0.62 mi)cut-and-cover tunnel along theleft bank of the Seine from Austerlitz to the Quai d'Orsay.[1][3]
The new terminal station, originally known as theGare d'Orléans (Quai d'Orsay), was in a culturally sensitive location, surrounded by elegant buildings such as theHôtel des Invalides, thePalais de la Légion d'Honneur and thePalais du Louvre. The PO company consulted three architects —Lucien Magne,Émile Bénard andVictor Laloux — to propose plans for a building that would be sympathetic to its surroundings. Laloux's scheme was successful, and the PO engaged him to design a monumental terminal station.[5][3] Laloux designed the new Gare d'Orsay in aBeaux-Arts style, facing it with large stone blocks and concealing the industrial aspects of the station behind ornatefaçades, decorated with large stonepersonification statues representing the railway destinations ofBordeaux,Toulon andNantes.[6] The building included the 370-room Hotel Palais d'Orsay in the western and southern sides.[2]
Thetrain shed was built as a steel and glass arch over the platforms and passenger concourse, with a span of 40 metres (130 feet) and measuring 138 metres (453 feet) in length and 32 metres (105 feet) wide over the 16 tracks. Passenger facilities incorporated many of the latest technological features, such as electric baggage lifts and escalators.[3]
The electric track system was modelled on theBaltimore Belt Line electrified railway which had been completed in 1895. Engineering was carried out byCompagnie Francaise Thomson-Houston SA, a French subsidiary of theGeneral Electric Company (GE), and the electric locomotives were manufactured by GE with running gear byAlco.[1] The station design was the inspiration for the largerPenn Station inNew York City whenAlexander Cassatt, president of thePennsylvania Railroad, traveled on his annual trip to Europe in 1901.
The station opened to passenger traffic on 28 May 1900.[1][2]
Advancements in the railways in the early 20th century led to the introduction of much longer mainline trains. Although the Gare d'Orsay offered a convenient central location, the site was restricted and there was no possibility of lengthening the platforms to accommodate the new, longer trains. The national rail operatorSNCF was forced to terminate long-distance trains on the Orléans line at Gare d'Austerlitz and by 1939, the Gare d'Orsay had closed to long-distance traffic. The station continued to be served bysuburban trains for some years afterwards.[7] The Hotel Palais d'Orsay closed at the beginning of 1973.
Although largely disused, the Gare d'Orsay came into use for some noteworthy events. During theSecond World War, the former station was used as a collection point for the dispatch of parcels toprisoners of war, and in 1945, the station was used as a reception centre for liberatedFrench prisoners of war on their return to France;[7] a plaque on the side of the building facing theRiver Seine commemorates this latter use. On 19 May 1958, GeneralCharles de Gaulle used the opulent hotel ballroom for a press conference to announce his return to French national politics, ushering in the end of theFrench Fourth Republic.[7]
The empty Gare d'Orsay also served as afilm location, providing the setting for several films, includingOrson Welles's version ofFranz Kafka'sThe Trial (1962), and is a central location inBernardo Bertolucci'sThe Conformist (1970).
The railway line terminating at Orsay was brought back into passenger service when a 1-kilometre (0.62 mi) extension was built in a tunnel along the bank of the Seine, connecting the PO line to theGare des Invalides, the terminus of the formerChemins de fer de l'Ouest line toVersailles. A new Quai d'Orsay underground station was built (now theMusée d'Orsay station). The new link opened on 26 September 1979, and today forms part ofLine C of the Parisiancommuter rail system, theRéseau Express Régional (RER).[8][9]
In the 1960s, the appetite for replacing old buildings withmodernist structures was gathering pace, and historic sites such asLes Halles market were being demolished. Plans were drawn up to demolish the Gare d'Orsay and replace it with a new building, and proposals for anairport, a government ministry building and a school of architecture were considered. Permission was granted to construct a hotel on the site, but in 1971Jacques Duhamel, theminister of culture underPresidentGeorges Pompidou, intervened. The station building was in a sensitive location on theSeine facing theTuileries Garden and theLouvre, and it was feared that a modern building would not fit in with the surrounding architecture. In 1973 the Gare d'Orsay was designated a protectedMonument historique.[10]
At the time, the French Ministry of Culture was facing problems with a lack of exhibition space, particularly in theMusée du Jeu de Paume and the Louvre. With the opening of theCentre Pompidou in 1977 to house modern art, it was felt that there was a lack of provision for exhibiting art of the 19th century. The paintings curator of the Louvre,Michel Laclotte, proposed the creation of a new museum to display 19th century artworks from thePost-romanticism era up toFauvism, and in particular the large collection ofImpressionist art from the Jeu de Paume.[11]
The project to convert the disused railway station into a museum was announced in 1978 by PresidentValéry Giscard d'Estaing.[11] The architects for the conversion were the architects' firm ACT led byPierre Colbloc [fr].[12] The Italian architectGae Aulenti developed the interior design of the gallery.[13] The building reopened as theMusée d'Orsay in December 1986. The former train shed now serves as the grand hall of the museum, with large works by sculptors such asAuguste Rodin,Jean-Joseph Perraud andJean-Baptiste Carpeaux on permanent display, overlooked by the large, ornate station clock. The former railway hotel now holds the paintings collection, displaying works byGeorges Seurat,Paul Cézanne,Claude Monet andVincent van Gogh among others.[3]
| Dates | Company or line | Preceding station | Following station |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900–1937 | Chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans Paris–Bordeaux railway | Terminus | Pont Saint-Michel |
