Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain · via Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons
Opera house · Paris, France
Palais Garnier
- Dated
- Dated 1861–75
- Declared purpose
- Opera house
- Today
- Survives
- Architect of record
- Charles Garnier, architect: about 36 when credited (1861, born 1825). Build time on record: about 14 years (1861–75).All architects of record →
Hidden history
Found, Not Built
Paris's opera house, with gold everywhere and an underground lake below its foundations.
A lake below
The recorded account says builders hit groundwater and made a cistern. Researchers ask what else lay underneath.
Fourteen years
Construction overlapped with war and the Commune.
Questions worth asking
- What was found when the foundations went down?
Possible original uses
- Opera and assembly
- Water and power
What the photos show
Surrounding Buildings
Old buildings nearby in Paris. Compare the stone, the domes and the dates.
Lost Buildings
Neighbours that were torn down or burned. Tap one for its photos.
Research
Further viewing
Episodes from My Lunch Break (Michael Kruse), the main lens for this app. They open on YouTube.
