Gare d'Orsay

The building you are approaching was constructed as a technological marvel for the nineteen hundred Exposition Universelle. Architect Victor Laloux designed it to be the world's first all-electric urban rail terminal. Because electric trains did not produce the steam or smoke of traditional locomotives, he had the freedom to enclose the entire train shed in a massive arch of glass and steel. This design allowed the station to feel more like a modern cathedral of light than a noisy industrial depot.