I was cruising the net, and found an article on the 25th anniversary of La Grande Arche, or the Grand Arch of La Defense. I have written about it before, because it "closed" the axis of history that starts at the other end with the Louvre, goes through the Tuilerie Gardens and the Place de la Concorde, follows the Champs Elysees, and crosses the Arc de Triomphe. The Arche de la Defense was opened in 1989 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. The big "picture frame" was a draw, and I took several groups of students to see the Arche. We climbed the steps, admired the views of Paris in the distance; Michael and I even went up the elevator to the observation deck that offered a fabulous view of Paris and that axis of history.
Alas, the Arche hasn't aged well. Marble tiles have fallen off one side, the elevator that sped tourists to the roof top observation area has fallen into disrepair - the observation deck has been closed since 2010 - and much of the interior office space goes unused.
It is still worth visiting the area, and seeing just how big the Grand Arche is. A pilot has flown through it, and the interior space is runored to be big enough to contain Notre Dame. There is a cool mall right there, and of course, there is the big thumb. Why is it there? I am sure that the artist would say, "Why not"?
It is sad to think about a building that started out with such promise and fanfare, but hopefully in the near future, there will be a happy ending to this story.
http://www.thelocal.fr/20140805/paris-the-not-so-grande-arche
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| The Arche up close |
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| thumbs up! |
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| The view from the now closed observation deck |
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| Looking along the axis of history |
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| The view from the other side of the Arche |
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