La Gare d'Orsay

Located in the heart of Paris, Orsay station was built in the context of the Universal Exhibition, an event that radically transformed the capital's urban infrastructure and transport. A symbol of modernity, the station boasted avant-garde technologies for its time, such as electricity and an automated baggage system. The station's eclectic and spectacular architecture blends a variety of styles, from ancient thermal architecture to the Louis XVI style, and the interior of the Palais d'Orsay hotel is a symbol of the elegance of the Third Republic.

In the panorama of nineteenth-century railway architecture, the Gare d'Orsay was a major influence on similar buildings in Europe and the United States, and although it was abandoned for commuter traffic after the Second World War, it inspired many artists and film-makers until the 1970s.

Through a wealth of documentation and a dozen essays written by authors specialising in specific areas of its history, this book retraces the extraordinary adventure of this masterpiece, from its creation to its conversion into a museum in 1986. It is a story that also reflects the architectural, social and cultural developments of its time.