The Topographical Evolution of the City of Paris 
MAP SHOWING THE REGIONS AFFECTED BY HAUSSMANN’s IMPROVEMENTS 
NAPOLEON III. AND HAUSSMANN 
When Louis Napoleon came into power 
in the revolution of 1848, the status of the 
topographical development of Paris was pe¬ 
culiar. The larger lines of a monumental 
city had been boldly drawn by Louis XIV. 
and his coterie of architects ; their work had 
been loyally regarded by the designers of 
Napoleon and Louis-Philippe, who had ac¬ 
complished something in the improvement 
of minor conditions ; the loi d'alignement had 
done its work in a satisfactory way ; all 
branches of science which work toward the 
improvement of social conditions had made 
immense strides, and were nowhere better un¬ 
derstood than in Paris ; the fine personality 
of Rambuteau had counted for much : but, 
notwithstanding all that had been done, the 
situation was unstable and dangerous. The 
natural and historic center of the city, the 
region about the lie de la Cite and within 
the old enceintes , remained for the most part 
in its medieval condition—crooked,congested, 
unsanitary ; much of it mere slums, perfectly 
adapted to barricades and insurrections. The 
center of population and activity was drifting 
away from this region, down the river toward 
Saint-Denis. If a radical reconstruction had 
not been undertaken, the old historic city of 
Paris would have been overwhelmed by 
her own rottenness, and a new city would 
have crystallized on her northwestern boun¬ 
dary. 
It is to be remembered that many means 
of communication had been invented which 
were not foreseen in the time of Napoleon. 
The population, moreover, was increasing 
rapidly. The totals are, 600,000 in 1804; 
785,862 in 1831; 935,261 in 1841; and 
1,053,897 in 1846. Nothing short of a wise 
and orderly but complete reconstruction was 
worth while, and precisely that was immedi¬ 
ately necessary. Napoleon III. was intelligent 
enough and powerful enough to undertake 
this, supported, as he was, by an intelligent 
and powerful people. 
The Emperor was a soldier and man of 
affairs, quite unsympathetic toward the ar¬ 
tistic aspect of things. In his conception of 
a scheme for the reconstruction of Paris the 
strategic and utilitarian points of view were 
clearly in mind, but the artistic point of view 
was not. If he had been left to himself, 
something like an American city—New York 
or Chicago—might have resulted. The good 
fortune of Paris, however, placed in his way 
a man of different temperament. Baron 
George-Eugene Haussmann was appointed 
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