In the past, France used to be a pretty industrial nation. But like many developed countries - except Germany maybe - we're constantly losing ground... Coincidentally, today I passed by the old factory of Renault (one of the major French car manufacturers) in Boulogne a very close suburb of Paris and the only thing that remains is... the facade that they keep as a proud testimony of the past! Of course, it would be unfair to let you believe that this is what's left of Renault, as it is now a large, pretty successful multinational group, but still...
Nice looking facade. They took pride in the design of that building.
ReplyDeleteFun photo. Green trees, parkway, pretty facade, and behind it...nothingness. Like the edge of the known universe. Tres Sartre.
Oh, I just noticed the guy on the little scooter. Good irony.
I noticed on Google it is Robert Doisneau's 100th birthday (or would have been). I wouldn't have known who that was if it wasn't for PDP! Thanks for the daily trivia and photos!
ReplyDeleteThis is unfortunately true of too many countries today.
ReplyDeleteinteresting....as i just saw a video clip
ReplyDeleteabout a man in Detroit who lives in an old Packard building......http://vimeo.com/thismustbe
The facade still really looks good But why didn't they maintain the whole building?
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that remains the same is change.
ReplyDeleteI recently saw Rachid Bouchareb's film Outside the Law.
ReplyDeleteIs the the Renault factory where those Algerian immigrants to Paris were working?
(By the way, although the film takes a definite stance on the Algerian resistance, it is completely absorbing and well done.)
So there is just emptiness behind this facade? Seems a little sad, why don't they make it a park? They could keep the facade, but put trees and grass behind that wall and make it so much more lovely. :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting photo and tip to the film Outside the law. I'm going to look for it soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks !
Cool facade -- we have some of those in my neighborhood which is SOMA, San Francisco, CA. SOMA has gone through a lot of changes. In the late 1800's my neighborhood was an enclave for the wealthy and upper middle class. After the 1906 earthquake, they moved to Nob Hill. Until the 1970's, South of Market (SOMA) was home to warehousing and light industry. They moved out of San Francisco and into the Bay Area where land was cheaper. In the 1980's after re-zoning SOMA to Live/Work space, the warehouses were converted to lofts, and the neighborhood became home to working-class professionals. Every neighborhood has a story. I remember when you told us the story of the Les Halles neighborhood, and then there was the story about the old garment district in Paris.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it empty behind it?
ReplyDeleteWell, in fact "we" do that a lot in France - and in Paris in particular. When a facade is worth keeping (like a Haussmanian one for instance) constructors keep it and destroy the rest to rebuild it with nowadays requirements (insulation, air conditioning, etc.).
It's highly controversial, as some people say it keeps the city in the past and prevents creativity, but others say it helps keeping Paris as beautiful as always.
Now about this facade in particular I don't know. I looked up on the Web and found nothing. But if they kept it it's probably for a reason.
More photos here, if you're interested.
Weird coincidence. Just yesterday [when you posted this] I was reading in an issue of Town and Country magazine the story of the Renault heirs and their legal fight against France. All fascinating and a story most of us Yanks had not heard before.
ReplyDeleteAwww :(
ReplyDelete