Musée d'Orsay

Musée d'Orsay used to be a railway station. The station had to be planned for the exclusive me of railway passengers, but at the same time was supposed to exhibit a high degree of comfort and luxury, in keeping with the beauty of the site and the elegance of the quarter.

For nearly 40 years, Orsay station which served the all South-West of France, was the first to be purpose-built for electric traction. More than 200 trains passed in transit daily. As electrification spread the rest of the network, longer trains came into service and the platforms of the railways station became not long enough.

It was later closed and served for a great many things, even a prison. Finally it became a Musée on Dec. 1, 1986.

Emile Gallé, Hand with seaweed and shells