The Great Commons building, right next to the palace on the Avenue of the American Independence, was built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart to house the king's staff and administration as well as army officers. It was later used as a military hospital in the 19th and 20th centuries and is currently undergoing restoration.-------------------------
Le Grand Commun, construit au XVIIè siècle par Jules Hardouin-Mansart, situé à proximité immédiate du château sur l'avenue de l'indépendance Américaine, abritait le personnel de la cour ainsi que l'administration et des officiers. Transformé en hôpital militaire du XIXè au XXè siècle, il est en cours de rénovation.
Apres renovation ce batiment devrait etre encore plus beau.
ReplyDeleteI bet this is a big job!
ReplyDeleteHope they don't mess it up!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful façade! It looks like sandstone and brick. What an elaborate entrance as well.
ReplyDeleteIt seems restoration is a way of life in France! But that's a good thing. It's wonderful that these monumental buildings are kept functional.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see an important old building restored and reused, unlike the one in my post on Wednesday. I think that in general, Europe is better about this than America (but thanks for the street name, anyway).
ReplyDeleteBe sure toshow some pictures when it's finished. :)
ReplyDelete«Louis» agrees with Bob Crowe that Europe is better than the U.S. about restoring old buildings. The one in Bob's post should be saved, but given the condition of St. Louis these days, «Louis» fears this won't be the case.
ReplyDeletec'est bien de rénover les vieux bâtiments, cela fait parti de notre histoire. Tu vas pouvoir nous faire un reportage sur l'évolution des travaux
ReplyDeleteJ'aime bien ce nom le "Grand Commun"..ça parait un peu contradictoire , mais ça s'explique par la destination des batiments.
ReplyDeleteDès que j'ai fait le gateau, je te dirai les reactions..je m'attends au pire! Ü
I see what seems to be a great clock there...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you pointed that out, VP. I haven't enlarged the photo yet so will have to look more closely as it looks wonderful. It must be a real treat to be someone in the skilled trades and get to work on restoring buildings with this much detail, fine workmanship, and history.
ReplyDelete-Kim
Renovations! In the end, they are good. In process, they can be annoying. Reminds me of NYC. Go around, walk on the other side, wait wait, don't go there!
ReplyDeleteJan
GDP
Definitely enlarge to fully appreciate the beauty of this building. It is certainly worthy of restoration. Is that the Mansard of the Mansard roof?
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame when you have to restore these places every two hundred years or so. You think they would have built them better.
ReplyDeleteFunny comment, B. For some reason it's refreshing to see scaffolding now and then, and not always perfect facades.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward seeing the building after restoration, it looks fantatsic!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see the buildings being renovated rather than torn down and replaced with something new. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteI think they are working hard, I'm curious about the work, this building is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI wish you are enjoying a beautiful sunny day there. I'm so happy about this cool weather.Maybe it's about Spring? Hmmm in fact, a friend from school told me here it's normal to have lots of rain this time.Well, I need to face it anyway, let me see! :)
Hugs
Léia
Wow that looks like it will be sometime before thay will be using it. Glad it is being restored---again. MB
ReplyDeleteIt must be thrilling to work on such a gorgeous building. I hope they are faithful to the original.
ReplyDeleteSharon
je préfère les murs anciens aux murs de taule
ReplyDeletepour les prénom nous perdons une syllabes par génération : n'est ce pas Marie-Bernadette
The Great Commons has gotten some good use for a long time.
ReplyDelete