The Building
Picture
Portrait of Victor Laloux by Adolphe Déchenaud is in the public domain.
 PictureLion embellishment is in the public domain.
​           The station is a masterpiece of a mixture between modernism and industry and was greatly influenced by already built American stations. Seven different arched entryways lead inside, most looking at the main hall right at the entrance. The roof is slanted towards the Louvre, as if to acknowledge it. The façade is embellished with sculptures like lion’s heads, oak branches and laurel leaves. The construction consists of steel framework which is clad with limestone blocks, supporting it until this very moment. The barrel-vaulted main space is of great importance as the building was mused of many historic moments such as welcoming the prisoners of war in 1945, hosting a press conference by General de Gaulle on his return to power in 1958, throwing many auctions and presenting theater productions. Finally, the building is now known as a museum.

  Victor Laloux                                       

Born in Tours, Laloux produced major commissions in a highly ornamented neo-classical surface style, collaborating with sculptors and muralists squarely in the Beaux-Arts tradition, but doing so on innovative cast-iron frames. Metal framing allowed higher interior spaces, more generous fenestration, and glass roofs, notably in the sunlit barrel-vault of the Gare d'Orsay.  This glass canopy measured an incredible 6.2 acres. 
​
Architect Victor Laloux built the Gare d’Orsay with modern features such as luggage ramps and elevators, as well as the 400-room adjacent Hotel d’Orsay. Laloux’s plan “dressed” the station’s exterior, covering it with white limestone to match the prestigious neighborhood and nearby Louvre palace. However, as technology advanced, the station’s platforms could no longer accommodate the larger, modern electric trains, subsequently causing the station to close in 1939 and now stands among many of the disused train stations in France.
Picture
Indoor iron framing is in the public domain.
​The unique arched roof not only was incredibly beautiful, but allowed for structural support as well.   
  
Picture
The white limestone of the Louvre is in the public domain.
The 1979 Project
The transformation of the station into a museum was accomplished by ACT architecture group, made up of M. Bardon, M. Colboc and M. Philippon. Their project was chosen in 1979 out of six propositions, and would respect Laloux's architecture while nonetheless reinterpreting it according to its new function. The project highlighted the great hall, using it as the main artery of the visit, and transformed the magnificent glass awning into the museum's entrance. 

The Interior

Gae Aulenti
PictureGae Aulenti by Gorup de Besanez used under CC BY.
​Aulenti was one of the few women designing in the postwar period in Italy. Her worked is varied, ranging from furniture to interior design. In particular, her touch of lighting is used throughout to light each artwork both artificially and naturally in order to create different types of intensity.  She was well known for completing this large-scale museum projects of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris (1980–86). Because of this feat, she went on to do these projects:
~Restore the Palazzo Grassi
~Convert an old Italian Embassy into an Academy of Science
~Convert San Francisco's main library into a museum of Asian art
​
  

The Clock

There are two clocks built into the building— the side facing the Seine and the Louvre and directly opposite the Tuileries Garden. The clock facing the Louvre is iconic as it stretches 24 feet in diameter and has a glass center so that visitors can enjoy a beautiful view on the top floor of the museum.

​
​This clock attracts many famous tourists, as Prince William and Kate Middleton can be seen looking out through the clock during this video at the 00:35 second mark.

References

​American Friends Musee D Orsay. N.p., n.d. Web.

Emerson, William. “Victor Laloux (1850-1937).” Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. 73, no. 6, 1939, pp. 135–136. 

Meeks, Carroll L. V. The Railroad Station: An Architectural History. Whitefish, M.T.: Literary Licensing, LLC, 2011. Print.

​Musée D'Orsay: Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 
PRICE, C. MATLACK. “FRENCH DERIVATIONS IN AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE.” Arts & Decoration (1910-1918), vol. 4, no. 2, 1913, pp. 55–58
​
Richards, Jeffrey, and John M. MacKenzie. The Railway Station: A Social History. London: Faber & Faber, 2010. Print.

Schneider, Andrea Kupfer. Creating the Musée D'Orsay: The Politics of Culture in France. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State UP, 1998. Print.

​“The Musée d'Orsay.” The Burlington Magazine, vol. 129, no. 1006, 1987, pp. 3–2.