Rambuteau is the nearest metro station to the Centre Pompidou.
Forty years after it was built, the Centre Pompidou can still trigger angry discussions. Is it the first post-modernist masterpiece or just a grotesque piece of street theatre, the Ubu Roi of modern architecture? One thing is for sure: the building will not leave you indifferent and will ask you to come out on one side or the other. There is no middle ground here.
The Centre is named after the French President Georges Pompidou whose objective it was to drag Paris into the modern era and to make it look like a 20th century city. Like Birmingham, for example. Or Bucharest. The ideas to replace the old markets of Paris with the Les Halles shopping centre and to build high-speed motorways on the banks of the Seine were also his. As was the Montparnasse Tower.
God knows if anything of fuddy-duddy Paris would still be left if he had not died, suddenly and in the middle of his first term, in 1974.
Cool photo. Never knew all this about Pompidou wanting to change the look of Paris. I’m glad that Paris is just like it is!
Interesting bit of history. Thanks for sharing !
Wow, I didn’t know that about Pompidou. Thanks for sharing.
I’m glad the world has some of ‘old’ Paris to enjoy! While I find this type of modern architecture interesting, give me some Gothic, Rococo or Baroque.
That’s a cool shot. I’ve been there but I hadn’t heard any of the back story.
Great shot! and an interesting read. Progress isn’t bad, but if it isn’t well thought out, well…we see the results in this shot 🙂
Interesting angle, 1970s modern architecture meets the Art Nouveau of the Metro. You know, I think Centre Pompidou is an interesting building. Paris has room for architecture reflecting all periods, even if we think some of it is ugly. That said, I’m glad he didn’t have time to demolish more.
That building looks still under construction…tell me it is construction scaffolding please!!!!!
Hahaha, that building would have been under scaffolding for the most part of 40 years or more, then.