Galeries nationales du Grand Palais

The Galeries nationales du Grand Palais features a massive iron and glass barrel vault that spans the center of the structure. Built for the nineteen hundred Exposition Universelle, the building replaced the former Palais de l'Industrie to provide a venue for official state exhibitions. During the First World War, the nave became a military hospital where nurses cared for wounded soldiers on temporary cots beneath the vast glass ceiling. It serves as a dedicated exhibition space for large scale international art shows today.