The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-08-02 00:00:00

THE BUILDINGS IN PARIS.

We read in the Moniteur :—" There is just a year, day
by day, since the laying of the first stone of the monu-
mental constructions, commenced by order of the Em-
peror, to realise the grand idea of the union of the Louvre
to the Tuileries. It was on Sunday, the 26th of July,
at 9 o'clock in the morning, the cure of St. Germain
l'Auexerois, in presence of M. de Casabianca, at that time
Minister of State, approached the first stone, placed at
the angle of the facade opening on the Rue de Rivoli,
and called for the blessing of Heaven on the undertaking
at once Royal and popular, the termination of which has
been the desire and the ambition of several centuries ;
then a box containing coin was sealed up, and the stone
was laid with the usual solemnity and ceremonial. To
effect the junction of the two palaces, difficulties, which
appeared to be insurmountable, had to be vanquished.
The greatest difficulty was, without contradiction, the
difference of the level which exists between one half of the
gallery by the side of the water, which was built in the
time of Henri 11., and the parallel wing of the Rue
de Rivoli. This street is much higher, so that, without
shocking common sense, and the view, two symmetrical
and parallel facades could not be placed in presence ; one
of them, in fact, woulderhasT•ehehsaed its basement
disappear,
thanks higher than the oth •
th
Gic
anksetohteltie Atig
two lines
and the R
of constructions
de Rohin, and stopnswhilca wt iiltin
the are
connected with the two great galleries by the buildings
pollefeaeceande extenton in
the Place o
proportion
twn Carrousel.witht
h To og
ranpreservedeer ot of thisthe
monumthene effecttswhicolfi
the
errloouvsnedr
it; tolevel
thet, wpattrhtoouft
in-
juring
the
southern gallery, the nearest to the Louvre ; to complete
the Museum by vast saloons destined for the exhibition
portions of i
of modern paintings and sculpture ; to provide for the
reception of three ministries, the telegraph and the
National Printing-office; to disguise the inconvenience
caused by the Pavilion de l'Horloge and that opposite to
it not being in the same line; and, finally, to place the
new buildings in harmony with the architecture of the
Louvre and with that of the Tuileries, and to borrow
from the two palaces what is most elegant and most
exquisite in them, and what at all times has caused the

BAI

e problem happily

v fulfille

L •
..ptect. Never has programme been more
d, never have promises been more faithfully
:tivity displayed in these immense works
s been prodigious. When one reflects that formerly
in the same Louvre and in the same Tuileries, under
powerful monarchs, in times of prosperity and calm, the
foundations often lay open for a quarter of a century, and
the constructions were more often suspended ; that it
required years to clear a court, repair afacade, discuss a
plan a hundred times resumed and abandoned—one can-
not too much admire the. firmness and the promptitude
iew worxs are conducted, Not a day

:ept. The ac

with which the 11

the administration to which is confided
the directinn of the works of the Louvre does not confer
AL Visconti, either to discuss the conditions of a
ation, or to settle some difficulty of detail, or
to examine the cc

passes in

new adju,

ants of the numerous contractors
in accordance with the recommendation of the Commis-
sion of Control, immediately receive payment for the
works executed. Under this energetic direction, the
enlightened zeal, the experience, and the talent of the
architect, and the ardour of the workmen, frequently
encouraged by the presence and the gracious marks of
interest of the Emperor, triumph over all obstacles. Let
people judge from a rapid glance at the state of the con-
structions. Immense excavations have had to be made,
foundations to be laid, and cellars to be constructed ; and

yet already the

cing the Rue de Rivoli is on the

average six yards above the soil, while the arcades facing
the Rue de Rohan are covered. 2,000 workmen are
employed, and in a short time the first guichet can be
delivered to the public and facilitate the circulation which
at present is often embarrased. The excavations of the
left wing, which is to face the Place du Carrousel and the
Place Napoleon 111., are equally terminated. The same
is the case with the foundations and basements of the
Place Napoleon III„ and of the buildings parallel to
the gallery of the Louvre. Orders are made for all the
ironwork that will he required, and everything causes it
to be believed that, at the end of the first season, the
buildings in the Rue de Rivoli will be raised above the first
story, and the part which faces the Rue de Rohan will be
raised to the roof. The right wing will be level with the
ground, and the left wing with the basement of the Place
Napoleon 111. To give an idea of the importance of the
works accomplished in the first year, it may suffice to say
that there have been employed 20,030 yards of concrete,
30,5-10 cubic yards of stone of all kinds, and that the
number of the days of the workmen is 187,812. The total
expense up to this moment does not reach 4,000,000 f.
There are anniversaries which cannot be forgotten with-
out ingratitude. Such is that of the laying of the first
stone of the works of the Louvre ; it marks a new date
of prosperity and glory in the life of a great people."