page_title: Architecture of the Paris Métro
section_title: Original CMP style (1900–1914)
hierarchical_section_title: Architecture of the Paris Métro / Train halls / Decoration / Original CMP style (1900–1914)
context_page_description: From the original plain white tilework and Art Nouveau entrances, the architecture of Paris Métro stations has evolved with successive waves of building and renovation.
  After experiments with diverse colour schemes, furniture and lighting, since 1999 there has been a reversion to the original design principles of the network. In parallel, the line 14 has provided an entirely new template for the stations of the 21st century.
context_section_description: The original decoration of the Métro's underground train halls was austere. Stations featured plain white tiles, enamel plaques for the station name, a few wooden benches and the station manager's kiosk in the middle of the platform. Within a few years advertising billboards and confectionery machines appeared. The now-famous beveled white tiles (of Gien earthenware) were chosen for their effective reflection of ambient light. Early-20th-century electric lighting had a strength of only 5 lux, making it impossible to read a book. Today's fluorescent lighting can reach 200 lux.
caption: This postcard of line 6's Pasteur station in the first decade of the métro's operation shows how insufficient the lighting was. The famous beveled white tile is nevertheless clearly visible.
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