Tag Archives: les Halles

Vespasiennes: Does a Roman Emperor Deserve This?

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Parisian Fields

Our home offices are in two adjacent rooms. While exploring one of my favourite Paris websites, Paris en Images, I called to Philippa, “What’s a Vespasienne?” and was instantly told, “A public urinal.” There had to be a blog in … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris civic functions, Paris history, Paris streets | Tagged Antoine Raymond Jean Gualbert Gabriel de Sartine, barils d’aisance, baron haussmann, Cabinets d’Aisance, chalet du nécessité, Champs Elysees, Charles Marville, colonne Rambuteau, Comte de Rambuteau, David P. Jordan, empêche-pipi, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, Jennings system, les Halles, McMaster University, Morris columns, pissoirs, sanisettes, urinals, Vespasian, Vespasiennes | 10 Comments

Eking out a living on the streets of Paris

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Parisian Fields

Paris has a reputation as a city of glitz and glamour. But in the early 20th century, beneath the glamour, many barely survived from day to day. In London, journalist and reformer Henry Mayhew had written a multi-volume study, London … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris history, Paris markets, Paris streets | Tagged bouquinistes, Church of Saint-Paul Saint-Louis, Henry Mayhew, ice cream, les Halles, Louis Vert, petits métiers, Pont d’Arcole, posters, rue Saint Antoine, sandwich men, street vendors, tooth puller | 14 Comments

The once and future Paris transport museum

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Parisian Fields

The huge Maison de la RATP on the quai de la Rapée has a sweeping view of the Seine and an impressive central atrium in which are positioned a few examples of historic trams and omnibuses. What it does not … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris metro, Paris museums | Tagged AMTUIR, Association pour le Musée des Transports Urbains, Chelles, Clive Lamming, Colombes, et Ruraux, Francois Siegel, Gare de Lyon, Harry Beck, Hector Guimard, Interurbains, Lapin de la RATP, Lapin du Metro, Les archives inédites de la RATP, les Halles, London Transport Museum, Maison de la RATP, Malakoff, Metro Insolite, Musée national des transports urbains, Paris metro, poinçonneur, poinçonneuse, RATP, Saint-Mandé, Univers de Leo | 11 Comments

Baltard’s Children

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Parisian Fields

It is common among Parisians and lovers of Paris to bewail the loss of the nineteenth-century market buildings at Les Halles. Those pavilions of iron, wood and glass designed by Victor Baltard stood in the heart of the city from … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris architecture, Paris history, Paris markets | Tagged Avenue Marceau, baron haussmann, Charles Marville, Félix Callet, Gare de l’Est, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, Grand Hotel des Balcons, Hotel Rond Point des Champs Elysees, Le Halles, les Halles, Musée d’Orsay, Napoleon III, Sens market, Victor Baltard | 9 Comments

In Search of Lost Time

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Parisian Fields

You don’t really need a wristwatch in Paris. For one thing, you are never far from a clock – on walls, towers, and in front of boutiques. Some are ornate. Some are utilitarian. Some are advertisements. Some are art. Of … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris history, Paris nostalgia, Paris postcards, Paris streets | Tagged Adam Roberts, clocks, Georges Cain, Grands Magasins Dufayel, Invisible Paris, les Halles, Louvre, Midnight in Paris, Musée Carnavalet, old postcards, Paris traffic, Petite Ceinture, railway stations, Tuileries Palace, Woody Allen | 13 Comments

A la recherche de Paris perdu

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Parisian Fields

I am no great fan of GPS or satnav systems. They convey a false sense of certainty about one’s location (What do you mean this is Montparnasse? It says Montmartre right here!) and are subject to garbage-in-garbage-out problems (if you … Continue reading →