Written TidbitsOrsay Museum

By Jim and Emmy Humberd

Prior to l'Exposition de 1900 (Paris World's Fair, 1900), the trains of the Orleans Railroad stopped at Gare Austerlitz, on the east side of Paris. The railroad company sought permission to build a new station on the Left Bank of the River Seine, a block or two away, and across the river from the Louvre.

On July 14, 1900 this building, stretching 150 yards from end to end, opened as Gare d'Orsay, the grandest railway station in France. In 1969 the last train left, and the French Government spent millions to convert Gare d'Orsay into the Orsay Museum, a beautiful museum. Some of the art, including "Whistler's Mother," came from other museums in Paris, but much had been in storage and up to now, not available for public view.

We enjoyed our visit to the beautiful building, the works of art, an excellent model of the Opera building, and a replica of the buildings of a Paris neighborhood under a floor of Plexiglas. Looking through a huge clock in a window, we could see the Louvre, the Garnier Opera building, with Montmartre and the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in the distance. A barge was sailing down the Seine, a clothes-line strung from bow to cabin with a couple dozen items hung out to dry. Those unmentionables were the talk of the town.

As we left the museum, Jim congratulated the man at the information booth, and said, "The French Government has proved its ability to change an old railroad station into a museum, so now would you see if you can get them to change Pompidou Center (National Center for Art and Culture) into a railway station." The man laughed, agreed, shook Jim's hand and enjoyed the comment.

Books by Jim and Emmy Humberd:
Invitation to France
Invitation to Germany
Invitation to Italy

Related Links:
Orsay Museum Site
The Orsay Museum

French Video Immersion