Slipping through a hidden portal, imagine yourselves in 1931. The Galerie Élysées-La Boétie, freshly built, beckons. This elegant passage, a sleek cut through the bustling city, connects the grand Champs-Élysées to the more intimate Rue La Boétie. Galerie Élysées-La Boétie isn’t just a walkway. It’s a stylish artery, pulsing with the lifeblood of Parisian commerce. Chic boutiques line its sides, tempting passersby with their wares. The air hums with the murmur of conversations, the rustle of shopping bags, and the click of heels on the polished floor. This gallery is a testament to the vision of architect André Arfvidson. He designed the building encompassing the Galerie Élysées-La Boétie for the First City Bank of New York. Imagine the contrast: American finance housed within a distinctly Parisian architectural gem. The original structure replaced the Hôtel de Massa, a grand mansion that once stood on this very spot. Relocated in 1928, the Hôtel de Massa left space for this modern marvel and its hidden gem, the Galerie Élysées-La Boétie. This stylish passageway, however, met its end in 2019. Sealed off during renovations, the Galerie Élysées-La Boétie exists now only in memory and photographs. The space became part of the Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées, a new retail experience that replaced the once-bustling passage. So, as you stand here, on the site of the former entrance, imagine the ghosts of shoppers past, the echoes of their laughter and conversations fading into the grandeur of the new department store. The Galerie Élysées-La Boétie, a hidden portal lost to time, remains a whisper of Paris’s ever-evolving story.
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