The Topographical Evolution of the City of Paris 
INTERIOR OF THE THERMES 
The Frigidarium 
From “ Les Arts du Moyen-Age —Du Sommerard 
portant relic of Gallo-Roman civilization to 
be seen in Paris, is the baths ( thermes) which 
occupied the western wing of the palace. The 
ruined portion in the Boulevard Saint-Michel 
is the tepidarium, or hot bath. East of this are 
two small entrance halls or vestibules, and 
beyond them the frigidarium , or cold bath, 
a splendidly vaulted room twenty-one meters 
long by fourteen meters wide and fourteen 
meters high, the masonry of which is still 
intact. In a recess on the north side of the 
frigidarium is the swimming tank [piscina), 
about ten meters long and five meters wide. 
At the springing of the vault over the pis¬ 
cina are two corbels decorated with carved 
prows ot ships, the first appearance of this 
emblem which the City of the Parish wears 
today on her shield. Under the frigidarium 
and piscina are substructures for various pur¬ 
poses, and to the eastward large masses of 
Roman foundations are merged in the sub¬ 
structures of the Hotel de Cluny. 
The Palais des Thermes was used as a res¬ 
idence by the Merovingian kings and re¬ 
mained the property of the French crown until 
1292, when it passed from Philippe-Auguste 
to private owners. In 1331 it was bought 
by Pierre de Chaslus, Abbe de Cluny. The 
present Hotel de Cluny, a jewel of the 
French transition style, was begun about 
1456. 
Between the Palais des Thermes and the 
river were the palace gardens, and to the 
south, occupying the region between the 
Rue Saint-Jacques and the Boulevard Saint- 
THE ROMAN AQUEDUCT-ELEVATION 
From “ Statistique Monumentale de Paris ”—Lenoir 
56 
