Casting a Shadow

On a sunny day, two tower blocks cast two long shadows. Near neighbours on the edge of the 13th arrondissement these two structures give additional relief to a chaotic skyline.

The first is the Tour Super Italie. Designed by the architect Maurice Novarina, this almost entirely residential tower was opened in 1974. Although at 112m it is roughly a third of the height of the Eiffel Tower, its 44,000 tonne weight is four and a half times heavier! For quite obvious reasons, its nickname in the area is the 'tour ronde'. UPDATE - there is a swimming pool and sun terrace on the top floor of this building! See the Comments for more information.

Slightly to the south on the Boulevard Kellermann is the Tour Chambord. It was the work of three architects - Gérald Brown-Sarda, Michel Holley and Daniel Mikol - and was opened a year later, in 1975. The shadow here is slightly shorter, with its 34 floors covering 96 metres. The uninterupted balconies of the residents give views over several parks and gardens, incluidng the Parc Kellermann and the Jardin du Moulin-de-la-Pointe.

Angles and shadows, curves and contrasts. Perfect for photographers, especially on blue sky days, but perhaps not so agreeable for the neighbours who live in the shadows.

The Best Ghost Sign in Paris?

On the corner of the Rue de Belleville and the Avenue Simon Bolivar is perhaps the best example of a ghost sign in Paris today. Ghost signs are the traces of hand-painted wall adverts which are fairly common in rural France but comparatively rare in Paris, but this one for the St Raphael quinquina drink is an excellent model.

Saint Raphael was one of the most popular apéritif drinks in France a generation or so ago, but is very difficult to find today (although you can still buy it here). It is a kind bitter vermouths based on partially fermented grape juice (mistelles) and quinine, with orange, vanilla, cocoa and aromatic plants. It was invented in 1830 by a certain Docteur Juppet, with, as usual, proclaimed medicinal properties!

As this website shows, it was a brand that often used this kind of wall advertising. This site also explains why this sign in Paris must have dated from before 1940. By briefly reading up on the evolution of laws relating to alcoholic drinks, we can probably conclude that the sign here was added after the 1920s.

The sign here is also signed Affiches F.Hamet, not the artist, but surely the purchaser of the space - a kind of JC Decaux of the epoque!

In the UK, Sam Roberts is the co-ordinator of a huge project - http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/ - seeking to document such adverts across the country. Nothing similar seems to exist in France, but the website does give a lot of details on the history of this style of advertising. What is perhaps missing though, and the question I ask myself when looking at this advert, is how long were such adverts supposed to last for? Were the owners of the building paid a certain amount of money for a certain period of time?

What is clear though is why there are so few examples in Paris. Hand painted adverts need brick to survive! Paris, with its the neat stone facades, limited blank wall space and the obligatory sandblasting of buildings could not expect to keep many traces. So this one is a true survivor, and an amusing anachronism today - adverts for alcohol now come with very strict warnings in the standard advertising spaces of the city!

Something for the Weekend (30th July – 1st August)

What links an apéritif in a record shop and a midnight movie? As with my other recommendations this weekend, both activities are completely free!

Find the complete list on the Paris Weekends blog.

The Death of a Hospital

I was sad to read recently that Saint Vincent de Paul, one of the oldest and most famous children’s hospitals in Paris, will shortly close its doors for the last time. Last year I wandered around the already crumbling site and found it to be full of charm, but consolidation and rationalisation have proven to be more powerful words.

On a hot day almost exactly one year ago I walked past the entrance to the Hopital Saint Vincent de Paul, and felt compelled to stop and take a look around. Hospitals are always quiet places, but Saint Vincent de Paul was particularly calm that afternoon. I was attracted by the shady spaces and silent pathways, a respite from the noisy Avenue Denfert Rochereau I was walking along.

Entire buildings seemed to be empty, although doors remained wide open. I walked up steps and down staircases, along corridors and into deserted lecture theatres. I found a neat concrete war memorial, heroically symmetrical. On the main passageway, a spirited wall protest, messages scribbled from patients and families imploring authorities to keep the hospital open.

But nobody was around to hear those voices. Even the hospital chapel was closed. Alongside, a twisting staircase heading heavenwards. This was the hospice des Enfants-Assistés, a site dedicated to the safekeeping of children, but one that had confused its calling. In 2005, 351 foetuses were discovered here in a laboratory. No one knows who and no one knows why.

A place nevertheless where generations of children were born, their birth screams staining the floors and walls. Soon these will be torn down, leaving these children orphans of a birthplace. The services will move down the road to the Hopital Cochin and the Hopital Necker. Boxes will be filled with memories, but many others will be judged redundant and burned.

What happens to hospitals when they die? Saint Vincent de Paul is a 3.2 hectare zone of prime left-bank real estate. The site will be reborn but the name will be sent to the archives. The site will be bought, buildings raised to the ground and new developments forced upwards. Perhaps a new écoquartier in 2016, a ghetto for the rich, if the city of Paris has its way.

Invisible Paris Walks – download the iPhone App!

In collaboration with New Zealand based http://www.mytoursapp.com/, I have transformed my Invisible Paris walks into downloadable iPhone guides! The three tours currently available are the following:

• From Sainte Rita to Saint Lazare
• Contemporary architecture
• Street art in Belleville

All information has been updated and new photos have been included. Best of all though, with the integrated GPS and the built-in maps, you can now be sure never to get lost en-route!

Click here to download the walks.

This time the walks are not free downloads, but for just a couple of dollars or euros you get all three walks. And if you don’t have an iPhone, don’t forget that PDF versions of the walks are still available at http://invisiblepariswalks.blogspot.fr/