“Did they really tear down a whole church because it was falling apart?” a voice whispered. It seems like a drastic measure, doesn’t it? But that’s exactly what happened to the predecessor of Église Saint-Jacques et Saint-Philippe. Imagine standing here in the heart of 18th century Paris, watching as the dilapidated old chapel, a relic of a leper colony from centuries past, is reduced to rubble. The chapel, originally dedicated to Saint Jacques and Saint Philippe, served a burgeoning parish. It desperately needed rebuilding. The parishioners, for decades, had endured services in what they called “a place wholly indecent for a church”. Finally, in 1767, King Louis XV himself commissioned a new church. He even helped secure the land after a previous attempt failed. You see, the first plot, a gift from the King in 1741, sat atop the “grand égout”. This “grand sewer,” which ran along present-day Rue La Boétie, made it impossible to lay stable foundations. The new Église Saint-Jacques et Saint-Philippe, designed by Jean-François Chalgrin, the architect who would later design the Arc de Triomphe, was a masterpiece of Neoclassical design. It was to have soaring twin towers flanking the nave, a grand vision, tragically cut short by lack of funds. Despite this, the church we see today, even without its intended towers, remains a testament to architectural ambition and royal patronage.
Центральный дом работников искусств
Step through the grand wooden doors of the Central House of the Workers of Art, and you’ll be transported to