Square Carpeaux

The Square Carpeaux occupies the site of the former ballroom of the Jardin de Flore. In the nineteenth century, this neighborhood dance hall drew crowds until the city demolished the structure to create a green space for local residents. A bronze statue of the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux stands at the center of the park, leaning against his own creation, The Dance. The original sculpture caused a public scandal when it appeared on the facade of the Paris Opera in eighteen sixty-nine.