History reopens its doors.
Actually, their toilets.
It is that some
public toilets in Paris
are the ones that are re-enabled after
twelve years of being closed.
But
they are not just any
: they are architectural relics of the
Belle Époque that are considered historical monuments.
They are located
next to the emblematic French church
La Madeleine
.
And from this Monday, anyone who pays
two euros
will be able to use them to relieve themselves surrounded by
the original decoration of the last century
.
As if traveling in time.
It is that the bathrooms are made within the framework of a structure with
a modernist style
.
Or
Art nouveau
, as the current of artistic renewal developed at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th is known.
The Paris baths had been inaugurated in 1905. Photo AFP
They were
closed since 2011
because they were affected by
various leaks
.
That same year, they had been categorized as a
historical heritage of the city of Paris
, which is considered the
first in the world "in terms of toilets in public spaces
".
However, in 2015, a
company that manages five other luxury bathrooms
in the French capital acquired a
ten-year concession for the one in La Madeleine
and began a process of refurbishment so that they can be used again.
The public toilets in Paris: what they are like and where they are located
The historic baths of Paris are located next to the La Madeleine church.
To access, you have to
go down some stairs that lead to a basement
.
The path to the underground is
adorned with period mosaics
that offer a little trip back in time.
Already in the toilets, the walls are made of
varnished mahogany
,
stained glass and ceramic
with soft green motifs, which coincides with a phrase that greets the user at the entrance:
"The beautiful, the luxurious and the useful"
.
In this sense, Eric Salles -founder of the Point WC luxury public toilets- wants to turn the place into an
obligatory "destination" for tourism and Parisian culture
.
The process of remodeling the bathrooms in Paris
According to the mayor of the VIII district of Paris, Jeanne d'Hauteserre, present at the reopening of the place on Monday, the public toilets were "affected by infiltrations".
From the roof of the place -that
is to say, at street level-,
natural light enters filtered
by a
historical glass
floor that for this occasion was reinforced by "a
triple waterproof layer
".
The period furniture, meanwhile, was preserved.
And while the city has yet to restore the
stair
mosaic , "everything is with its original elements."
The use of the public toilets costs two euros.
AFP photo
As they pointed out, the company is still
looking for a shoeshine boy
for the place, to fill the job that was held for decades in the toilets, along with
a podium that is still there
.
Paris, the pioneer city in public toilets
With 750 public toilets and urinals
, Paris claims to be the first city in the world "in terms of toilets in public space".
In general they are free
, after a decision by the authorities in 2006. But there are exceptions for some bathrooms located in very touristy places such as Notre-Dame, the Louvre museum or the Champs Elysees.
Among the historic toilets, the Paris mayor's office remarked that there is one more that dates from the beginning of the 20th century.
It is an example of vespasiana, another type of public bath
for men only
, which is located on Arago boulevard.
DS
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