Paris Live Cam

The first half of the nineteenth century was marked by the Industrial Revolution in Europe, in which the expanding science of metallurgy played a primary role.

Cast iron made its debut in the construction industry in 1779 with the bridge at Coalbrookdale in England, followed in 1803 by the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris. By around 1845 laminated iron was taking over as a more efficient and economic material than cast iron, heralding a spectacular rejuvenation in the conception of buildings.

The central market building in Paris, Les Halles, was erected in 1853 by Victor Baltard and Felix Callet. It was the first building in France to openly display its metalwork. It opened the way for the construction of new types of edifice required by an industrialized society, such as railway stations, markets, factories, large stores, glass-roofed buildings, pavilions and exhibition halls.