Les Abattoirs

The long, low brick building with the distinctive serrated roofline was built in eighteen twenty-three to serve as the city’s central slaughterhouse. For over a century, the neighborhood air here was thick with the scent of leather and meat. Inside the main hall, butchers worked under the high ceilings and open ventilation designed to keep the space functional. Today, those same vast, open halls hold works of contemporary art, including a massive stage curtain painted by Pablo Picasso for a nineteen thirty-six play.