L’escalier de la Gare l’Est

The stone staircase connecting the Rue d Alsace to the Gare de l Est serves a purpose far more industrial than its elegant architecture suggests. Before it became a common route for travelers, the structure acted as an essential hydraulic installation for nineteenth-century Paris. Hidden beneath the stone steps were three large cast-iron water pipes. These pipes were fed by water diverted from the Bassin de la Villette and transported through an aqueduct that followed the path of the street. Today, the staircase remains a rare surviving relic of the complex engineering efforts once required to manage the city water supply.