Sunday, August 23, 2015

A ONCE-BLUE-COLLAR NEIGHBORHOOD'S UNEXPECTED OPEN SPACE


ASSEMBLING TROOPS WHILE ISOLATING FROM RESIDENTS EXPLAINS THE GIANT VOIDS IN THE WORKING-CLASS CENTER, EAST AND SOUTH*

*There are no such spaces in the prosperous west. In the north, the steep, distant Montmartre hill prevented such change, with dramatic consequences.
 
The void that surrounds this church in the combustible 13th  let troops was planned as a rallying-point for soldiers rushed from the heart of town:
(Artery built in 1854, church in 1858)

 Notre-Dame de la Gare

The dome of the Pantheon, close to the city's center, appears in the background.

The space is now allows a market: There is room for stands, trucks, parked cars and traffic. 


We'll come back to this neighborhood,
and show other ways in which 
its turbulent yet forgotten past affects its present.

*    *    *

No comments: