Parc de l'Île Saint-Germain

The Parc de l'Île Saint-Germain stands on land that was once a military site, long before it became the public green space you see today. In the mid twentieth century, this island was slated to be transformed into an industrial port zone, a project that would have covered the area in concrete and shipping infrastructure. Local officials and residents launched a campaign to block the industrialization, eventually succeeding in preserving the site for public use. The park officially opened in 1980 after a massive landscaping project that required the removal of thirty-five buildings and the addition of forty-five thousand cubic meters of soil to reshape the terrain.