Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was
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 ...
' central fresh food market. It last operated on January 12, 1973, after which it was "left to the demolition men who will knock down the last three of the eight iron-and-glass pavilions"
["Les Halles Dead at 200, A Victim of Progress", ''The New York Times'', January 13, 1973, p. 8] and replaced by the Westfield Forum des Halles, a modern
shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
built largely underground and directly connected to the massive
RER and
métro transit hub of
Châtelet–Les Halles
Châtelet–Les Halles () is a major train hub in Paris and one of the largest underground stations in the world. Opened in 1977, it is the central transit hub for the Paris metropolitan area, connecting three of five RER commuter-rail lines a ...
. The shopping mall welcomes visitors daily.
A major reconstruction of the mall was undertaken in 2010, and the new version of the Forum des Halles was inaugurated in 2018.
The 2.5 hectare Canopy was opened on 5 April 2016. In 2017, the Forum des Halles was the second most visited shopping mall in the Paris region with 42 million yearly visitors.
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History
The market of the Little Fields
In the 11th century, a market grew up by a cemetery to the northwest of Paris in an area called the Little Fields ().[Jim Chevallier, ''A History of the Food of Paris: From Roast Mammoth to Steak Frites'', 2018, , pp. 41–42] This was mainly a dry goods
Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and forme ...
and money changing market. A bishop briefly took control of the market before sharing control with Louis VI in 1137. In 1183, Philip Augustus took full control of the market and built two market halls — — to protect the textiles. He also built walls around the market, including land which had recently been confiscated from exiled Jews that originally belonged to the church. When he then built walls around the city, these embraced the market, which quickly became the city's largest (and, over time, went from being at the edge of the city to at its center). Officially, it would remain a dry goods market for centuries, but food stalls soon grew up around the main buildings and by the 15th century food prices
Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food.
Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing ...
at les Halles were being cited as significant for the whole city.
The market would have ups and downs over the coming centuries and was rebuilt more than once. Over time, an increasing number of halls were built explicitly for food, but the dry goods market remained central to the (increasingly cramped) space.
The wholesale market
The church of Saint-Eustache was constructed in the 16th century. The circular Halle aux Blés (Corn Exchange), designed by Nicolas Le Camus de Mézières
Nicolas Le Camus de Mézières (March 26, 1721 – July 27, 1793) was a French architect and theoretician. He was born and died in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most ...
, was built between 1763 and 1769 at the west end of Les Halles. Its circular central court was later covered with a dome, and it was converted into the Bourse de Commerce in 1889.[Parimage, "Les Halles, The New Heart of Paris". Mairie de Paris and SemPariSeine, July 2012.]
In the 1850s, Victor Baltard
Victor Baltard (9 June 180513 January 1874) was a French architect famed for work in Paris including designing Les Halles market and the Saint-Augustin church.
Life
Victor was born in Paris, son of architect Louis-Pierre Baltard and attended Lyc ...
designed the famous glass and iron structure which would house les Halles for over a century and became one of the sights of Paris; this would last until the 1970s. Now entirely a food market, the remodeled market was known as the "Belly of Paris", as Émile Zola
Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...
called it in his novel '' Le Ventre de Paris'', which is set in the busy marketplace of the 19th century.
Major conversion
Unable to compete in the new market economy and in need of massive repairs, the colourful ambience once associated with the bustling area of merchant stalls disappeared in 1973, when Les Halles was dismantled (fruit, flower and vegetable markets had moved in 1969, and only the butchers at the meat markets remained); the wholesale market was relocated to the suburb of Rungis
Rungis () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, in the ''département'' of Val-de-Marne.
It is best known as the location of the large wholesale food market serving the Paris metropolitan area and beyond, the '' Marché d'Int ...
. [ Two of the glass and cast iron market pavilions were dismantled and re-erected elsewhere; one in the Paris suburb of ]Nogent-sur-Marne
Nogent-sur-Marne () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Nogent-sur-Marne is a '' sous-préfecture'' of the Val-de-Marne ''département'', being the seat of the Arrondissement of Nogent-s ...
, the other in Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
, Japan.
The site was to become the point of convergence of the RER, a network of new express underground lines which was completed in the 1960s. Three lines leading out of the city to the south, east and west were to be extended and connected in a new underground station. For several years, the site of the markets was an enormous open pit, nicknamed ( means 'hole'), regarded as an eyesore
An eyesore is something that is largely considered to look unpleasant or ugly. Its technical usage is as an alternative perspective to the notion of landmark. Common examples include dilapidated buildings, graffiti, litter, polluted areas, and e ...
at the foot of the historic church of Saint-Eustache. Construction was completed in 1977 on Châtelet–Les-Halles, Paris's new urban railway hub.
The , a partially underground multiple story commercial and shopping centre, designed by Claude Vasconi
Claude Vasconi (24 June 1940 - 8 December 2009) was a French architect.
Vasconi was born in Rosheim, and was educated at the ''Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et de l'Industrie'' in Strasbourg. In 1964, he set up office in Paris. After desi ...
and Georges Pencreac'h, opened at the east end of the site on September 4, 1979 in presence of the Mayor of Paris
The Mayor of Paris (french: Maire de Paris) is the chief executive of Paris, the capital and largest city in France. The officeholder is responsible for the administration and management of the city, submits proposals and recommendations to the C ...
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
, and remains there today. A public garden covering opened in 1986. Many of the surrounding streets were pedestrianized.
Paris Les Halles
Châtelet–Les Halles
Châtelet–Les Halles () is a major train hub in Paris and one of the largest underground stations in the world. Opened in 1977, it is the central transit hub for the Paris metropolitan area, connecting three of five RER commuter-rail lines a ...
is Paris's busiest rail station, serving 750,000 travelers on an average weekday. The buildings and their surroundings have been criticized for their design. In 2002 Mayor Bertrand Delanoë
Bertrand Delanoë (; born 30 May 1950) is a French retired politician who served as Mayor of Paris from 2001 to 2014. A member of the Socialist Party (PS), he previously served in the National Assembly from 1981 to 1986 and Senate from 1995 unt ...
announced that the City of Paris would begin public consultations regarding the remodeling of the area, calling Les Halles "a soulless, architecturally bombastic concrete jungle".[Riding, Alan. "For Paris, the Newest Look Is a Canopy". New York Times, July 7, 2007. Accessed December 25, 201]
/ref>
A design competition for the Forum and gardens was held, with entries from Jean Nouvel
Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and '' Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has o ...
, Winy Maas
Wilhelmus "Winy" Maas (born 1959 in Schijndel) is a Dutch architect, landscape architect, professor and urbanist. In 1993 together with Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries he set up MVRDV.
Education
He completed his studies at the RHSTL Bo ...
, David Mangin
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, and Rem Koolhaas. Mangin's design for the gardens, which proposed replacing the landscaped mounds and paths of the 1980s design with a simplified pattern of east-west pedestrian promenades and a large central lawn, was selected. The plan also includes extending the pedestrianized area further east to include all the streets bordering the gardens. Another competition was held for the redesign of the Forum. Ten teams submitted plans, and the proposal by Patrick Berger
Patrik Berger (; born 10 November 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his career in his own country with Slavia Prague and spent a season in Germany playing for Borussia Dortmund. He moved to E ...
and Jacques Anziutti was selected in 2007. Their design includes a large undulating glass canopy which will cover the redesigned Forum. STIF and RATP began plans for the remodeling of the Châtelet-Les-Halles station in 2007, and the following year Berger and Anziutti were awarded a contract for redesign of the station.
The station redesign includes new entrances on Rue Berger, Rue Rambuteau, and Place Marguerite de Navarre, an expanded RER concourse, and improved pedestrian circulation. Construction began in 2010 on a project which includes the gardens, Forum, and station, to continue through 2016. The clients are the City of Paris, RATP, which operates the Paris Metro, and La Société Civile du Forum des Halles de Paris, which operates the Forum.
In popular culture
* Scenes of the old Les Halles marketplace can be seen in (1958) and in and (both 1963).
* Part of the actual demolition of the site is featured in the 1974 film (''Don't Touch the White Woman!
''Don't Touch the White Woman!'' (french: Touche pas à la femme blanche !) is a 1974 Western comedy film co-written and directed by Marco Ferreri.
Plot
A fictionalized version of Custer's Last Stand, set at a real building site in Paris, France ...
''), which iconoclastically restages General Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
's 'last stand' in a distinctly French context in and around the area.
* In 1977, Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...
made a 54-minute documentary film that testified to the public's response to the demolition of Les Halles and the construction of . "The result was a sceptical vision rather than a pure celebration."
* The open-air market and Baltard's pavilions were digitally reconstructed for the 2004 film (''A Very Long Engagement
''A Very Long Engagement'' (french: Un long dimanche de fiançailles, italic=yes, "A long Sunday of engagement") is a 2004 French-American romantic war drama film, co-written and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and starring Audrey Tautou, Gaspard ...
''), which was set after the First World War.
References
Bibliography
* in french : Bertrand Lemoine'', Les Halles de Paris : L'histoire d'un lieu, les péripéties d'une reconstruction, la succession des projets, l'architecture d'un monument, l'enjeu d'une cité'', L'Équerre, coll. « Les Laboratoires de l'imaginaire » (no 1), Paris, 283 p. () ; in italian: ''Le Halles di Parigi: La storia di un luogo, le peripezie della ricostruzione, la successione dei progetti, l'architettura di un monumento'', trad. Giuliana Aldi Pompili, Jaca Book, coll. « Di fronte e attraverso / Saggi di Architettura » (no 96), Milan, 1984 ()
External links
*
*
Châtelet-Les Halles on Insecula
*
Remodeling project official site
*
postcards from the 1900s.
{{Authority control
11th-century establishments in France
Food markets
Districts of Paris
Buildings and structures in the 1st arrondissement of Paris
Shopping districts and streets in France
Philip II of France