In 1889, the Champ-de-Mars was formally transferred from the French army to the City of Paris. It was used once more for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1900, and, then, beginning in 1909 until 1927, it was developed into a public park. It was an unusual site; it was the only large park in Paris not enclosed with a fence, and it was crossed by three major boulevards. The huge Gallery of Machines, which occupied much of the site, was demolished in 1909. The park architect was Jean Camille Formigé (1849–1926), a protégé of Alphand. He used the long central axis from the Eiffel Tower to École Militaire to create a formal and symmetrical park in the French style. The long central axis was lined with paths and rows of trees; a basin with fountains was placed in the center; playgrounds were built along the sides. The original gardens from the 1889 exhibition, around the Eiffel Tower, were preserved in their original form and can still be seen. Like other French formal gardens, it was best seen from above, in this case from the top of the Eiffel Tower.