We didn't know it, but in the 19th century, Les Halles de Paris looked very different from the way they do today. At the behest of Napoleon III, architect Victor Baltard built large halles in the center of the capital to facilitate trade - twelve buildings constructed from iron, cast iron and glass. Erected between 1850 and 1870, these Baltard pavilions served their purpose well, but at the end of the 1950s, the government wanted to transfer the activity to Rungis, which led to the demolition of all these pavilions to make way for today's Forum.
All of them? No, there's one diehard left: pavilion number 8, which housed the egg and poultry market, miraculously saved and preserved as a testimony to the capital's architectural past. Dismantled piece by piece, it was bought back by the town of Nogent-sur-Marne, to be reassembled on the site of the Nogent-Vincennes locomotive depot, where it was inaugurated in 1976 and is now used to host gala evenings, TV shows and trade fairs! A unique vestige of Victor Baltard's masterpiece, revolutionary for its time: light and airy.
The Pavillon Baltard is also home to theformer Gaumont-Palace cinema organ, a listed historic monument acquired by the city in 1976.
Location
Pavillon Baltard
12, avenue Victor Hugo
94130 Nogent sur Marne
