Last night, the Hotel Lambert, located at the tip of Ile Saint Louis partly burnt (you can see part of it in the background). It's a real tragedy - even if no one died, which of course is the most important. It was one of the oldest (1640!) and most beautiful (It took 5 years to the painters to decorate the inside) buildings in Paris. The place was being renovated and it's possible that an electrical problem caused the fire. Some people also suspect that it may have been intentional, as the Hotel was bought in 2009 by Cheikh Hamad Abdallah Al-Thani from Qatar and that the type of renovations he wanted to make (including, from what I read, a car elevator!) was not exactly of everybody's taste...
I hope it wasn't a criminal act, but either way, an important piece of history has been damaged.
ReplyDeleteThat's sad. I also hope it was not a criminal act. And I hope it can be repaired/restored.
ReplyDeleteI don't suppose we'll ever find out, but personally I'm fed up hearing about the filthy rich turning beautiful interiors into something resembling a cheesy nightclub. What's wrong with these people, are they just too rich to consider using the stairs? Perhaps they will eventually buy the whole of the Ille St. Louis and put up security gates.
ReplyDeleteRoll on the revolution!
Rant over, feel better now. :-}
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! Well, it's not new; money does not buy class...
DeleteYou got that right, both of you!
DeleteI read about this fire. Fortunately the owner has the means to repair the damage.
ReplyDeleteThat is terrible. I stayed near there once in Paris and it is beautiful and old. I read about that purchase a few years back and can't believe that it ended like that.
ReplyDeleteHow distressing. I'm remembering the very beautiful balcony, gilt-trimmed...
ReplyDelete