Pont des Invalides

The Pont des Invalides features two immense statues of victory mounted on the central piers, which are the only survivors of a much more ornate design. When the bridge opened for the eighteen fifty-five World Fair, it was decorated with statues representing land and sea victories. A massive flood in nineteen ten damaged the structure so severely that engineers had to reinforce the masonry, and in the process, they stripped away most of the original, elaborate neoclassical ornamentation to keep the bridge stable.