Garnier Opera House - Paris, France
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 48° 52.275 E 002° 19.921
31U E 451016 N 5413358
The Garnier Opera House is a Paris landmark located at at the north end of the Avenue de l'Opéra.
Waymark Code: WMGZ4G
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 04/26/2013
Views: 32
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte ascending the throne as Napoléon III on December 2, 1852. He ruled as Emperor of the French until September 4, 1870. During his reign Paris needed a new and larger opera house to replace the one in Rue Le Peletier. On September 29, 1860, Napoléon III commissioned the construction of the present spectacular building. One hundred seventy-one applicants competed in the design contest, which was awarded to the then unknown architect Charles Garnier.
Work took 14 years. The front was unveiled on August 15, 1867, but the opera-house officially opened much later in 1875, after the fall of the Empire and Napoléon III was no longer in power.
The Garnier Opera House is regarded as one of the great buildings of the world. It is located in a busy and crowded section of Paris where eight major roads converge. This opulent building is constructed in the classical neo-Baroque style, utilizing multicoloured marbles and ornamental statuary.
If you look carefully near the roof-line of the Garnier Opera House between the gilded angel statues you can see and decode the meaning of the repeating sequence of N's and E's as seen clearly in the close up (middle) picture.
N E N E N E N E N
N (gold letter in light blue circle)= Napoleon III
E (gold letter in maroon circle) = Empress Eugénie the wife of Napoleon III
Visit Instructions:[EN] Include at minimum a complete sentence which reflects your experience visiting the site and upload a photo taken by you at the site if possible.
[FR] Ecrivez au moins une phrase complète qui décrira votre expérience lors de la visite et téléchargez une photo du site prise par vous si possible.