View source for Gare d'Orsay

{{Short description|Former railway station in Paris, France}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{about|the former mainline railway station in Paris|the adjacent RER station|Musée d'Orsay station|the RER station serving the suburb of Orsay|Orsay-Ville station}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Gare d'Orsay
| type = Heavy rail
| style = 
| image = La Gare d'Orleans et Quai d'Orsay.jpg
| image_caption = 1909 postcard: "La Gare d'Orleans (the Gare d'Orsay) et Quai d'Orsay"
| address = [[Quai d'Orsay]]/[[Rue de Lille (Paris)|Rue de Lille]]{{br}}75343 Paris, France
| line = [[Paris–Bordeaux railway]]
| other = 
| structure = 
| levels = 
| tracks = 16
| opened = 1900
| closed = 1939
| years1 = 1986
| events1 = Reopened as the [[Musée d'Orsay]]
| rebuilt = 
| electrified = 
| code = 
| architect = [[Victor Laloux]]
| architectural_style = [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]]
| owned = {{plainlist|*[[Chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans]] (1900–1934)
*[[Chemins de fer de Paris à Orléans et du Midi|PO-Midi]] (1934–1937)
*[[SNCF]] (1937 onwards)}}
| zone = 
| smartcardname = 
| smartcardstatus = 
| former = Gare d'Orléans (Quai d'Orsay)
| services = 
| map_type            = Paris
| map_overlay         = <!-- Overlay image file name, to be placed on top of the main map. Should have the same border coordinates. -->
| map_alt             = map of Paris
| map_caption         = Location of the Gare d'Orsay in Paris
| map_size            = 300px
| map_dot_label       = Gare d'Orsay
| coordinates = {{Coord|48.860283|N|2.325392|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
}}

The '''Gare d'Orsay''' ({{IPA|fr|ɡaʁ dɔʁsɛ|lang}}) is a former [[List of Paris railway stations|Paris railway station]] and hotel, built in 1900 to designs by [[Victor Laloux]], [[Lucien Magne]] and [[Émile Bénard]]; it served as a terminus for the [[Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans]] (Paris–Orléans railway). It was the first [[Railway electrification system|electrified]] urban [[terminal station]] in the world, opened 28 May 1900, in time for the [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|1900 Exposition Universelle]].<ref name="prr">{{cite web
|url=http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1900%20Mar%2005.pdf
|title=PRR Chronology  |date=March 2005 |access-date=16 July 2010 |publisher=The Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society |last=Baer |first=Christopher T. |page=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204145136/http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1900%20Mar%2005.pdf |archive-date=4 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

After its closure as a station in 1939, it reopened in December 1986 as the [[Musée d'Orsay]], an art museum. The museum is currently served by the [[Musée d'Orsay station|eponymous RER station]].

==History==
===Palais d'Orsay===
[[File:Les Ruines de Paris et de ses Environs 1870-1871, Cent Photographies, Premier Volume. DP161592.jpg|thumb|The burnt-out ruins of the Palais d'Orsay|left]]
In the early 19th century, the site was occupied by military barracks and the {{ill|Palais d'Orsay|fr}}, a governmental building originally built for the [[Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]. The palace was erected over a period of 28 years, from 1810 to 1838, by the architects [[Jacques-Charles Bonnard]] and later [[Jacques Lacorné]]. After completion, the building was occupied by the [[Cour des Comptes]] and the [[Council of State (France)|Council of State]].{{sfn|Schneider|1998|p=8}}<ref name="histoire">{{cite web |title=Histoire du musée - Un musée dans une gare |url=https://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/articles/histoire-du-musee-60 |website=www.musee-orsay.fr |publisher=Musée d'Orsay |access-date=28 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203232047/https://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/articles/histoire-du-musee-60 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

After the fall of the [[French Second Empire]] in 1870, the [[Paris Commune]] briefly took power from March to May 1871. The archives, library, and artworks were moved to [[Palace of Versailles]] and eventually both the ''Conseil'' and the ''Cour des Comptes'' were rehoused in the [[Palais-Royal]]. On the night of 23–24 May 1871, the largely empty Palais d'Orsay was burned by soldiers of the Paris Commune, along with the [[Tuileries Palace]] and several other public buildings associated with [[Napoleon III]],{{sfn|Schneider|1998|p=8}} an event which was described by [[Émile Zola]] in his 1892 novel, ''[[La Débâcle]]''. Following the fire, the burnt-out walls of the palace lay derelict for almost 30 years.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zola |first=Émile |author-link=Émile Zola|year=1892 |publisher=Bibliothèque Charpentier |location=Paris |title=[[La Débâcle]] |language=fr |trans-title=The Downfall |at=Part 3, chapter 8}}</ref><ref name="histoire"/>

===Construction of the new station===
Towards the end of the 19th century, the [[Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans]] (PO) railway company drew up plans to exploit the opportunities offered by the forthcoming [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|Paris Exposition]], which was due to open in 1900. The PO company's railway line from [[Orléans]] in southwestern France, opened in 1840, terminated at the Paris Gare d'Orléans station (later renamed ''[[Gare d'Austerlitz]]''). The terminus was unfavourably located in the [[13th arrondissement of Paris|13th arrondissement]], and the PO Company sought to extend its lines from Austerlitz into central Paris. In 1897, the company won government approval to construct a new terminus on the site of the former Palais d'Orsay. A 550 [[Volt|V]] [[Direct current|DC]] [[third rail]] railway line extension was constructed in a {{convert|1|km|mi|adj=on|abbr=on}} [[cut-and-cover]] tunnel along the [[left bank]] of the Seine from Austerlitz to the Quai d'Orsay.<ref name="prr" /><ref name="histoire" />

[[File:Déchenaud-Laloux.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] architect [[Victor Laloux]]]]
The new terminal station, originally known as the ''Gare d'Orléans (Quai d'Orsay)'', was in a culturally sensitive location, surrounded by elegant buildings such as the [[Hôtel des Invalides]], the [[Palais de la Légion d'Honneur]] and the [[Palais du Louvre]].  The PO company consulted three architects — [[Lucien Magne]], [[Émile Bénard]] and [[Victor Laloux]] — to propose plans for a building that would be sympathetic to its surroundings. Laloux's scheme was successful, and the PO engaged him to design a monumental terminal station.<ref name="mp">{{cite magazine |editor1-last=Formentin |editor1-first=Charles |title=La Nouvell Gare d'Orléans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gwPrtU0J-kgC&pg=RA1-PA108 |date=1897 |magazine=[[Le Magasin pittoresque]] |volume=16 |issue=II |pages=108–110 |publisher=Ancienne Librairie Furne |language=fr |access-date=3 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="histoire" /> Laloux designed the new Gare d'Orsay in a [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] style, facing it with large stone blocks and concealing the industrial aspects of the station behind ornate [[façade]]s, decorated with large stone [[personification]] statues representing the railway destinations of [[Bordeaux]], [[Toulon]] and [[Nantes]].{{sfn|Schneider|1998|p=11}} The building included the 370-room Hotel Palais d'Orsay in the western and southern sides.{{sfn|Schneider|1998|p=8}}

[[File:Gare-d'Orsay-BaS.jpg|thumb|Electric trains operating in the Gare d'Orsay, ca. 1900]]
The [[train shed]] was built as a steel and glass arch over the platforms and passenger concourse, with a span of {{convert|40|m|ft|abbr=off}} and measuring {{convert|138|m|ft|abbr=off}} in length and {{convert|32|m|ft|abbr=off}} wide over the 16 tracks. Passenger facilities incorporated many of the latest technological features, such as electric baggage lifts and escalators.<ref name="histoire" />

The electric track system was modelled on the [[Baltimore Belt Line]] electrified railway which had been completed in 1895. Engineering was carried out by [[Thomson-Houston Electric Company|Compagnie Francaise Thomson-Houston SA]], a French subsidiary of the [[General Electric Company]] (GE), and the electric locomotives were manufactured by GE with running gear by [[Alco]].<ref name="prr" /> The station design was the inspiration for the larger [[Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963)|Penn Station]] in [[New York City]] when [[Alexander Cassatt]], president of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]], traveled on his annual trip to Europe in 1901.

[[File:Paris Gare d'Austerlitz - Gare d'Orsay line 1900.png|thumb|The new railway line extension opened in 1900, linking Gare d'Austerlitz and Gare d'Orsay]]
The station opened to passenger traffic on 28 May 1900.<ref name="prr"/>{{sfn|Schneider|1998|p=8}}

===Decline and closure===
[[File:Gare d'Orsay vue générale du hall.jpg|thumb|The passenger concourse in the Gare d'Orsay, 1920]]
Advancements in the railways in the early 20th century led to the introduction of much longer mainline trains. Although the Gare d'Orsay offered a convenient central location, the site was restricted and there was no possibility of lengthening the platforms to accommodate the new, longer trains. The national rail operator [[SNCF]] was forced to terminate long-distance trains on the Orléans line at Gare d'Austerlitz and by 1939, the Gare d'Orsay had closed to long-distance traffic. The station continued to be served by [[suburban train]]s for some years afterwards.{{sfn|Schneider|1998|p=9}}  The Hotel Palais d'Orsay closed at the beginning of 1973.

Although largely disused, the Gare d'Orsay came into use for some noteworthy events. During the [[Second World War]], the former station was used as a collection point for the dispatch of parcels to [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]], and in 1945, the station was used as a reception centre for liberated [[French prisoners of war in World War II|French prisoners of war]] on their return to France;{{sfn|Schneider|1998|p=9}} a plaque on the side of the building facing the [[River Seine]] commemorates this latter use. On 19 May 1958, General [[Charles de Gaulle]] used the opulent hotel ballroom for a press conference to announce his return to French national politics, ushering in the end of the [[French Fourth Republic]].{{sfn|Schneider|1998|p=9}}

The empty Gare d'Orsay also served as a [[location filming|film location]], providing the setting for several films, including [[Orson Welles]]'s version of [[Franz Kafka]]'s ''[[The Trial (1962 film)|The Trial]]'' (1962), and is a central location in [[Bernardo Bertolucci]]'s ''[[The Conformist (1970 film)|The Conformist]]'' (1970).

===Line re-opening===
The railway line terminating at Orsay was brought back into passenger service when a {{convert|1|km|mi|adj=on}} extension was built in a tunnel along the bank of the Seine, connecting the PO line to the [[Invalides station|Gare des Invalides]], the terminus of the former [[Chemins de fer de l'Ouest]] line to [[Versailles-Château-Rive Gauche station|Versailles]]. A new Quai d'Orsay underground station was built (now the [[Musée d'Orsay station]]). The new link opened on 26 September 1979, and today forms part of [[RER C|Line C]] of the Parisian [[commuter rail]] system, the [[Réseau Express Régional]] (RER).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pigenet |first1=Michel |title=Mémoires du travail à Paris: faubourg des métallos, Austerlitz-Salpêtrière, Renault-Billancourt |date=2008 |publisher=creaphis editions |isbn=978-2-35428-014-7 |page=150 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zp3itic8914C&dq=RER+ligne+C+1979+invalides+gare+d%27orsay&pg=PA150 |access-date=26 June 2023 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Janssoone · |first1=Didier |title=Les 40 Ans de la Ligne C du RER 1979-2019 (La Vie du Rail) |date=2019 |publisher=Éditions La Vie Du Rail |location=Paris}}</ref>

{{Portal|Trains|France}}

==Museum==
{{Main|Musée d'Orsay}}
In the 1960s, the appetite for replacing old buildings with [[Modern architecture|modernist]] structures was gathering pace, and historic sites such as [[Les Halles]] market were being demolished. Plans were drawn up to demolish the Gare d'Orsay and replace it with a new building, and proposals for an [[airport]], a government ministry building and a school of architecture were considered. Permission was granted to construct a hotel on the site, but in 1971 [[Jacques Duhamel]], the [[Ministry of Culture (France)|minister of culture]] under [[President of France|President]] [[Georges Pompidou]], intervened. The station building was in a sensitive location on the [[Seine]] facing the [[Tuileries Garden]] and the [[Louvre]], and it was feared that a modern building would not fit in with the surrounding architecture. In 1973 the Gare d'Orsay was designated a protected [[Monument historique]].{{sfn|Schneider|1998|pp=9-10}}

[[File:Main hall of the Musée d'Orsay, Paris 5 March 2015 004.jpg|thumb|Main exhibition hall of the Musée d'Orsay (opened 1986)]]
At the time, the French Ministry of Culture was facing problems with a lack of exhibition space, particularly in the [[Musée du Jeu de Paume]] and the Louvre. With the opening of the [[Centre Pompidou]] in 1977 to house modern art, it was felt that there was a lack of provision for exhibiting art of the 19th century. The paintings curator of the Louvre, [[Michel Laclotte]], proposed the creation of a new museum to display 19th century artworks from the [[Post-romanticism]] era up to [[Fauvism]], and in particular the large collection of [[Impressionist art]] from the Jeu de Paume.{{sfn|Schneider|1998|p=12}}

The project to convert the disused railway station into a museum was announced in 1978 by President [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]].{{sfn|Schneider|1998|p=12}}  The architects for the conversion were the architects' firm ACT led by {{ill|Pierre Colbloc|fr}}.{{sfn|Schneider|1998|p=19}} The Italian architect [[Gae Aulenti]] developed the interior design of the gallery.{{sfn|Schneider|1998|p=35}}  The building reopened as the [[Musée d'Orsay]] in December 1986. The former train shed now serves as the grand hall of the museum, with large works by sculptors such as [[Auguste Rodin]], [[Jean-Joseph Perraud]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux]] on permanent display, overlooked by the large, ornate station clock. The former railway hotel now holds the paintings collection, displaying works by [[Georges Seurat]], [[Paul Cézanne]], [[Claude Monet]] and [[Vincent van Gogh]] among others.<ref name="histoire" />
{{Historical rail start}}
{{Historical rail line
|start-date=1900
|end-date=1937
|previous=''Terminus''|next=[[Saint-Michel–Notre-Dame|Pont Saint-Michel]]
|company=[[Chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans]]{{br}}<small>[[Paris–Bordeaux railway]]</small>
}}
{{rail end}}

== References ==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
===Sources===
*{{cite book |last1=Schneider |first1=Andrea Kupfer |title=Creating the Musée d'Orsay: The Politics of Culture in France |date=1998 |publisher=Penn State Press |location=State College, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-0-271-03834-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4oA2tB9lSsC&q=history+of+gare+d%27orsay |access-date=24 June 2023 |language=en}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://maps.google.com/maps?q=paris,+france&ll=48.859703,2.327106&spn=0.003004,0.010274&t=h&hl=en Satellite image from Google Maps]

{{Musée d'Orsay}}
{{Paris rail stations}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orsay}}
[[Category:Railway termini in Paris]]
[[Category:Defunct railway stations in Paris]]
[[Category:History of Paris]]
[[Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1900]]
[[Category:Railway stations in France opened in 1900]]
[[Category:Railway hotels]]
[[Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in France]]
[[Category:Historicist architecture in France]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the 7th arrondissement of Paris]]
[[Category:Repurposed railway stations in Europe|Orsay]]
[[Category:Railway stations in France closed in 1939]]