Cirque d'Été

The Cirque d'Été stands out as a polygon of sixteen sides, topped by a canvas roof that once defied the standard stone architecture of the Champs-Élysées. Built in eighteen forty-one for the acrobat Franconi, it hosted horseback riding displays and pantomimes beneath a grand chandelier. During the off-season, the structure vanished, as workers dismantled the canvas and iron framework entirely. For decades, the site held the laughter of crowds until the building was demolished in nineteen hundred to make room for urban expansion.