Hôtel de Ville de Lyon

The Hôtel de Ville de Lyon occupies a long, symmetrical block between the Place des Terreaux and the Rhône river, anchored by a prominent central bell tower. Construction finished in sixteen seventy-two, but a fire gutted the interior just two years later. Architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart stepped in to redesign the space, working on the grand reception rooms while the city leaders scrambled to recover. During the French Revolution, the building served as a revolutionary tribunal, where the guillotine stood waiting in the square outside.