Grande halle de la Villette, Paris 12 March 2016

The Grande halle de la Villette (originally: Grande Halle aux Boeufs; translation: "Great Hall of Cattle"), formerly a

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

and now a cultural center, is located in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France. It is situated on Place de la Fontaine aux Lions within the

Parc de la Villette The Parc de la Villette is the third-largest park in Paris, in area, located at the northeastern edge of the city in the 19th arrondissement. The park houses one of the largest concentrations of cultural venues in Paris, including the Cité de ...

, in the

19th arrondissement The 19th arrondissement of Paris (''XIXe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dix-neuvième''. The arrondissement, known as Butte-Chaumont, i ...

. While the Grande Halle is within Paris' main ''

abattoir A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

'' district, the historical building now serves as a venue for trade fairs, exhibitions, music festivals, and open-air cinema.

History

La Villette ("a world apart") was a

warehouse district This is a list of notable warehouse districts. A warehouse district or warehouse row is an area found in many urban setting known for being the current or former location of numerous warehouses. Logistically, warehouses are often located in indust ...

and industrial section of northeastern Paris, stretching within a plain formed between the

Goutte d'Or The Goutte d'Or (, ''Drop of Gold'') is a neighbourhood in Paris, located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The neighbourhood has large numbers of North African and sub-Saharan residents. It is known for its open-air market, ''le marché Deje ...

and the

Buttes-Chaumont The Parc des Buttes Chaumont () is a public park situated in northeastern Paris, France, in the 19th arrondissement. Occupying , it is the fifth-largest park in Paris, after the Bois de Vincennes, Bois de Boulogne, Parc de la Villette and Tuiler ...

, and built around the

Canal de l'Ourcq The Canal de l'Ourcq is a long canal in the Île-de-France region (greater Paris) with 10 locks. It was built at a width of but was enlarged to 3.7 m (12 ft), which permitted use by more pleasure boats. The canal begins at Port-au ...

and the

Canal Saint-Denis The Canal Saint-Denis is a canal in Paris that is in length. The canal connects the Canal de l'Ourcq, at a point north-northwest of the Bassin de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement, with the suburban municipalities of Saint-Denis and Auberv ...

. As part of

Haussmann's renovation of Paris Haussmann's renovation of Paris was a vast public works programme commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III and directed by his prefect of Seine, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, between 1853 and 1870. It included the demolition of medieval neighbourho ...

, Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann proposed concentrating all the abattoirs and meat markets on the city's outskirts at La Villette. Les abattoirs de la Villette en 1867

Designed by Jules de Mérindol and Louis-Adolphe Janvier (1818–1878), construction of the Grande Halle took place during the period of 1865–1867. While the La Villette complex opened in the 1860s with a total of three market halls, only the Grande Halle aux Boeufs, preserved for its architectural value, survives. La Villette took on a nickname ''la Cité du Sang'' ("city of blood") by butchers, or ''La Villetouse'' in slang. In 1970, the City of Paris ceded Villette's land and its management to the national government, and four years later, Villette's slaughterhouses ceased operations. In 1979, l'Etablissement Public du Parc de la Villette (EPPV) was created to restore and manage Villette's 55 hectare site; and the slaughterhouse/market became a

Monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

's 1982 announcement of ''Les Grands Projets included Parc de la Villette, and in that year, Bernard Reichen and Philippe Robert were selected for the Grande Halle's restoration. After renovation completion, Mitterrand opened the restored Grande Halle in January 1985. In 1993, by government decree No. 93-96, the EPPV was renamed ''L’Etablissement public du Parc et de la grande halle de la Villette'' ("The Public Establishment of the Park and the Great Hall de la Villette"; EPPGHV). Another Grande Halle renovation occurred in 2005–2007. The production designer Guy-Claude François collaborated with architects in the conception of the hall's performance stage.

Architecture and fittings

The Grande Halle is made of cast iron and glass. It covers an area of , and measures by . Three sides are open while the fourth, made of glass, is the entrance to the hall. Speakers are hung from hooks on the overhead canopy and not easily visible to the public in order to separate the listener from the building's technical elements; however, there is a slight reverberation because of the glass roof. The hall's far end is described as the central axis of the building's main visual field. Plans for an

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

restaurant by architects Gilles & Boissier include using an adjacent garden as a source for menu requirements; Café de la Villette is in size.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grande halle de la Villette Buildings and structures in the 19th arrondissement of Paris Monuments historiques of Paris Industrial buildings completed in 1867 Cultural centers 1867 establishments in France