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I was looking at these before after images and was concerned what happened to these beautiful buildings near the Seine in Paris. Were they destroyed in a war? Has there been any attempt to reconstruct them?

http://kengarex.com http://kengarex.com

psmears
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Mohammad
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1 Answers1

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They were not regular construction, but exhibits for the Exposition Universelle (1900), showing different cultures side by side:

Each country funded, designed and on occasion constructed their pavilions, carrying the burden of some of the cost of the fair and the also the glory that followed in the praise of their homeland contributions.

They were demolished afterwards, so no they were not destroyed by war.

justCal
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    Fun fact: the Eiffel tower was also intended to be a temporary structure for the World Fair of 1889 ... and intended to be demolished after 20 years. But then wireless technology took hold, and the tall antenna was just too useful to scrap. – Floris Feb 25 '18 at 21:23
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    Since the 2nd pic looks somehow very artificial: are these built like movie props, lime Potemkin villages or what? – LаngLаngС Feb 25 '18 at 21:59
  • I'm not sure about the second image, the site linked looks like a basic click-bait type gallery site, so I didn't pursue to find the second image.A google image search brought up enough to get the answer. – justCal Feb 25 '18 at 22:28
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    This says of the entrance gate that La structure générale était en métal et la porte fut entièrement recouverte de staff which I think means it's metal covered with decorative/moulded plaster, prefabricated and reinforced with fibre. This article somewhat confirms that, showing it used in the facade of something. I don't know for sure about those specific buildings pictured, though, how they're built. – ChrisW Feb 25 '18 at 23:56
  • @Floris Really? Radio saved the Eiffel tower? – corsiKa Feb 26 '18 at 02:01
  • @corsiKa - see this link – Floris Feb 26 '18 at 06:43
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    @LangLangC Well, all buildings are artificial, but I know what you mean: the image looks artificial because the colors were added to it by hand. – Anton Sherwood Feb 26 '18 at 07:21
  • Hand-colouring of images was often done for postcards and similar souvenir prints -- just the sort of thing likely to be preserved – Chris H Feb 26 '18 at 09:20
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    @ChrisH: Ah! That explains why the cooper roofs are "green before their time".(It normally takes 20 years or more for the green patina to set in properly on a copper roof.) – Pieter Geerkens Feb 26 '18 at 14:40
  • @PieterGeerkens and the wrong shade of green -- the natural process can be sped up but wouldn't ever be that vivid – Chris H Feb 26 '18 at 15:06
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    @Floris sites like thelocal.fr, etc. tend to be pretty hype oriented and lacking in confirming sources. In this case, Wikipedia does confirm it (though they also lack an authoritative source to verify it). – RBarryYoung Feb 26 '18 at 16:31
  • @RBarryYoung I had the factoid “stored in my mind” for a long time... “since before the internet”. This was the first hit I found that seemed to confirm it. Decided to look further - found a French site that pretty much says the same thing: « C’est d’ailleurs la radiodiffusion qui la sauvera de la destruction, 20 ans plus tard. » – Floris Feb 26 '18 at 16:42