The Palais Garnier wears a mask of gold-leafed statues and grand marble staircases, but its foundation rests on a subterranean swamp. When architect Charles Garnier began digging in eighteen sixty-one, his crew struck a high water table that flooded the site for eight months. Steam pumps ran day and night to clear the murky water. Garnier eventually opted to build a double-walled concrete foundation to keep the dampness out, a choice that birthed the legend of the phantom living in the basement.
Palais Garnier
cultural
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