PARIS 



4495 



PARIS 



boulevards. The greater part of the olde=t 



.on of tin- city i- encircled by what are 



known a- Hi- Roulti'ardt. built upon 



i he rampart- ron-tructed in the fourteenth. -i\- 



teenth and seventeenth centuries. Beyond tin 



(irainl- Boulevards are the old .-uburb.-. and 



in turn are enclosed by another circle of 



boule\:,pl-. coinciding with ilie rampart- of tin 



teenth century. Outside of the latter are 



tin- newei- .-uburbs (made a part of the city 



; 1860), which extend to the boule\ 

 lining the modern fortifications. The suburb- 

 on the north, east and south are the homes of 

 working people, and those on tin- we.-t contain 

 the residence- of tin- well-to-do. There an 

 other wide and beautiful avenues traversing the 

 rity at angles, with the line of boulevards, many 

 of tln--<- being designated a- Hm. the French 

 word for str'. Tin- ive thorough- 



nous and beautifully clean, are lined 

 with trees ami -id n tin -niewalk.- are 



-mall table- where rich and poor alike may 

 er for conversation and nfre-hment . Tin x 

 EDtlei of Cafes, -Imp- and amusement pi 

 .nd by day and night on the principal avenin- 

 one may - life in its most vivacioi;- 



The vi.-itor in I'm- i- alway- impressed by 



the harmony of it- architectural plan. Tin 



-ky line pn- ( in- no -uch conira-ts a- dot - that 



of Chicago or New York, lor instance, for tin 



buildim:- of Pan- ha\e been erected in accord- 



ance with laws designed to produce an effect of 



ic unity. In the French capital, therefor* . 



one never sees Mich incongruities as a huge, 



modern skyscraper beside an old, weatherworn 



building three or four Mories high. Light-col- 



: lime-tone, which lends itself so readily to 



ful oiiiam. niation. has been quite gen- 



i allv u-ed in the con-i ruction of both private 



i' -nl tiers und public building-. 



Public Squares, Parks and Gardens. Tin 



-(plan- 01" Pan-, numbering more than 



130. an- world famou-. In the heart of tin 



rity, on tin- north bank of tin Seine, i- the 



ie hi Concorde '"Place of 



ulucli I. oui- XVI and 



\\ere guillotined during tin 



i In tin nti i of tin 



death machiin . , .,., - 



\ devoured it- \ictim-. there now stands 



noble obelisk which centuries ago guarded 



tin g.it. ua\ to the Temple of Luxor, in Egypt 



(see OBEI i \ruund the square are right 



colossal figures symbolising former prmimial 



itals, including Strassburg. in Alsace. As u 



perpetual emblem of the grief of the French 



people over the lo of their province, the 

 Sna--buiir .-tatue is kept decorated with crape- 

 covered flags and wreath-. 



Leading westward from the Place de la Con- 

 corde is one of the finest boulevards in tin- 

 world the Champs Elysees (which see). This 

 fa-hionable thoroughfare connects the Tlao 

 of Peace" with another famous square, the 

 Place de 1' Etoile ("Place of the Star"). From 

 the latter twelve broad avenues radiate in all 

 directions, the Champs Elysees being continued 

 on the opposite side as the Avenue de la 

 Grande Armee. In the center of the square i- 

 a colossal Arch of Triumph erected in com- 

 memoration of the victories of Napoleon (see 

 article, page 329). A few blocks east of tin 

 Place de la Concorde is the Place Vendome, 

 having as its most conspicuous ornament Napo- 

 leon's Column of Victory, which is decor 

 with ba>-reliefs illustrating scenes from the 

 campaign of 1805. Another well-known >quan 

 in the vicinity of the Place de la Concorde i- 

 tln Place Carrousel, containing another of N 

 poleon's great triumphal an-ln -. The Place de 

 la Bastille, on the site of the famous state 

 pn-on ( see BASTILLE), the Place de la Repub- 

 lique. with an imposing bronze statue -ymbol- 

 izing the Republic, the Place de Rivoli, con- 

 taining a famous equestrian statue of Joan of 

 Arc, the Place de la Nation and Place > 

 Michel are other handsome squares. 



Of the many attractive garden spots in the 

 city none is of greater historic interest than 

 the Jardin des Tuileries, adjoining the Place 

 de la Concorde on the east. The famous royal 

 palace (see Ti iu.mi.>> \\a- <l--troyed in 1871 

 by the Communists, but the grounds ha\ 

 been converted into a beautiful public park 

 which the children u-e a- a playground and 

 their elders as a recreation spot and prome- 

 nade. The garden is bordered on one si I > 

 fine broad avenue, the Rue de Rivoli, and on 

 the other by tin >wiftly flowing Seine; from 

 its terrace along the bank of tin n\er a mag- 

 minent MOW of the city may be obtainl 



: to the -iilllll :l. :!ie i ialclt II- 



lie Luxembourg, with their beautiful Ob- 

 ik and wonderful conservatories. 

 On tin- -id( of the river, too. ,.i, tin tp* 

 grounds of the Hotel des Invalides (the home 

 for old soldiers), the Jardin dos Plantes, with 

 a famous collection of plants from all parts of 

 iln- uorld. and the Champ de Mars (Field of 

 itT.I Tower (which see), 

 i this loftiest structure in the world a sin- 

 gle flag floated uftcr America's entrant 



