Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe dominates the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, but the site was almost home to something entirely different. Before the arch was commissioned, an architect named Charles Ribart proposed a monumental three-level building shaped like a giant elephant. This structure would have featured a spiral staircase leading into the elephant's gut and a drainage system disguised within its trunk. The government ultimately rejected the plan, clearing the way for the massive limestone arch that stands here today.