Bourse de commerce (Paris)
| Bourse de commerce | |
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Bourse de commerce and the Médici column
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| General information | |
| Type | Hall |
| Classification | Historical monument |
| Address | 2, rue de Viarmes |
| Town or city | Paris (1st arrondissement) |
| Country | France |
| Coordinates | 48°51′46″N 2°20′34″E / 48.862731°N 2.342780°ECoordinates: 48°51′46″N 2°20′34″E / 48.862731°N 2.342780°E |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | François-Joseph Bélanger |
| Engineer | François Brunet |
| Website | |
| web |
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The Bourse de commerce (Commodities Exchange) is a building in Paris, France, originally used as a place to negotiate the trade of grain and other commodities, now used to provide services to businesses by the Paris Chamber of Commerce. It has its origins in a circular corn exchange built in 1763–67, with an open-air interior court that was capped by an iron dome in 1811. In a major reconstruction in 1888–89 much of the structure was replaced, although the layout remained the same and the dome was retained with modifications. The dome of the building is listed as a historical monument.
Between 1574 and 1584 Jean Bullant (1515–78) built a hôtel particulier (grand house) on the site for Catherine de' Medici (1519–89). A tower with an encaged observation platform, now called the Medici column, was built beside the hôtel from which observations of the stars could be made for astrological purposes. The Queen's hôtel was bought by Charles de Bourbon-Condé, Count of Soissons, who repaired and enlarged it. The hotel became called the Hôtel de Soissons. The indebted last owner was Victor Amadeus of Savoy (1690–1741). After his death the hotel was demolished in 1748 and the materials sold to pay the creditors. The city of Paris bought the column from its first owner, Laurent Destouches, which saved it from destruction.
Between 1763 and 1767 the City of Paris built a circular building on the site for the storage and sale of wheat. The Halle aux blés (Corn Exchange) was designed by Nicolas Le Camus de Mézières with a circular central courtyard and a double staircase. The layout of that building has been retained. From 1782 to 1783 a wooden dome was built to a design by Jacques-Guillaume Legrand and Jacques Molinos based on the principles defined by Philibert de l'Orme. On 16 October 1802 the cupola was destroyed by fire. A new design by François-Joseph Bélanger for an iron dome covered in sheets of copper was selected after some controversy.Victor Hugo described the dome in his 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris as an English jockey-cap on a large scale. The corn exchange was closed in 1873. In 1885 the building was assigned to the Commodities Exchange. Until then the exchange had been housed in the Palais Brongniart.
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