Snapshots of Paris Dating Back To 1979 - Page 2

bilbao58 · #21 Posted **Jun 17, 2020, 8:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by cabasse

i wonder when that giant digital display was added to (and removed from) the eiffel tower. i don't remember seeing that before. was it just used as a y2k countdown?

these are such a cool snapshot in time. thanks for sharing.

That particular one was just for Y2K. There have been others. The day I arrived in June of 1989 was the 100th anniversary of the Tower. There was a bit "100 ANS" placed vertically on it. There have been others as well.

By the way, the tower was lit differently in 1979 and 1984. The lighting was done by spots from the exterior. Later, don't remember when but it was definitely before 1989, the tower was lighted by spots on the structure itself. It remains lighted that way to this day.

The sparkly lights that cover the entire structure and the beacon on the top were both inaugurated as the smoke from the Year 2000 fireworks dispersed. I have a home video in a box somewhere of that beacon first breaking through the smoke.

bilbao58 · #22 Posted **Jun 17, 2020, 8:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mousquet

Montmartre is the highest hill within the central city, but there's another noticeable one, Sainte-Geneviève in the 5th arrondissement. That's where they built the Panthéon to bury and honor a number of important persons.

Otherwise, Mont Valérien is another well known hill in the western inner suburbs. It is in Suresnes, slightly higher than Montmartre and offers some cool views over La Défense and Central Paris. That view over there has been causing some NIMBYism, incidentally. A couple of residential skyscrapers in Suresnes was rejected because of it. They would obstructed some views from up there.

Don't forget Ménilmontant and Belleville.

mousquet · #23 Posted **Jun 18, 2020, 10:01 AM**

^ Ah ouais, c'est vrai. There are some kind of inclined streets over the 20th arrondissement too... Ha, you might be aware of the city's topography better than I am.
Nothing much to do with San Francisco's sloping streets anyway. Biking over there must be a bit of a challenge, even though that's not the Alps stages of the Tour de France.

I just guess a lot of US citizens would be interested in visiting Suresnes because there's the US military cemetery upon the hill. That's to pay tribute to their soldiers who died for World War I on France's soil. You know, the Americans are usually "patriots" and find these things important, which is normal after all.
Visiting the site of the memorial would give them an opportunity to enjoy the view over the city, which is a plus.

The North One · #24 Posted **Jun 18, 2020, 9:21 PM**

damn these are good.

Minato Ku · #25 Posted **Jun 18, 2020, 11:04 PM**

As I was born in 1990 and I didn't live in Paris until 2002.
Paris of the 1980s and even most of the 1990s is quite foreign to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bilbao58

In 1984, there was a dark, scary slum area just southwest of Tour Montparnasse that was filled with squatters and Nigerian drug dealers and no electricity so it was pitch black at night. I believe Place de Séoul and surroundings replaced that.

It's difficult to imagine how rough the south of Montparnasse used to be.

The same can be said for the area around Gare de Lyon.
There were some very rough blocks called Ilot Chalon next to Gare de Lyon railway terminal.
https://www.vice.com/fr/article/dpmb...coeur-de-paris

Almost everything has been demolished.
To enlarge Gare de Lyon, build a new square and new buildings.

raph93 · #26 Posted **Jun 21, 2020, 2:49 PM**

Thanks for these pics!

montréaliste · #27 Posted **Jun 24, 2020, 11:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bilbao58

Paris, like every other desirable city, has become the playground for the super rich.

There were things I saw in '79 and '84 that were definitely gone even by 1989, when I spent a month there for the Bicentenaire.

In 1979 there were men with pushcarts on the streets who sold "limonade" in glasses...made from glass...that you had to give back to them when you finished drinking. Also, they still had the "Première Classe" Métro cars in the middle of the trains and the seats in all the cars were made from wooden slats.

In 1984, there was a dark, scary slum area just southwest of Tour Montparnasse that was filled with squatters and Nigerian drug dealers and no electricity so it was pitch black at night. I believe Place de Séoul and surroundings replaced that. La Villete was still a mercantile center. Bastille was pretty rough. Parc des Buttes-Chaumont was a beautiful park even then. Canal Saint-Martin was charming but not yet trendy. Les Entrepôts de Bercy was still active with giant barrels of wine.

Also, in 1984, the only place to find a public phone that hadn't been smashed for the coins inside was at the PTT offices.

There was no graffiti yet inside the Abbesses Métro stop spiral staircase.

Oh, yeah, the Boulogne-Billancourt area still produced films and Renaults!

I could go on and on. I haven't been in almost 20 years.

Yes, my first trip to Paris was in '81. The only place I could place a collect call outside a hotel was at a the Louvre Central PPT. It all seems like ancient history in the age of cellphones.

montréaliste · #28 Posted **Jun 24, 2020, 11:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minato Ku

As I was born in 1990 and I didn't live in Paris until 2002.
Paris of the 1980s and even most of the 1990s is quite foreign to me.

It's difficult to imagine how rough the south of Montparnasse used to be.

The same can be said for the area around Gare de Lyon.
There were some very rough blocks called Ilot Chalon next to Gare de Lyon railway terminal.
https://www.vice.com/fr/article/dpmb...coeur-de-paris

Almost everything has been demolished.
To enlarge Gare de Lyon, build a new square and new buildings.

The buildings surrounding the Gare de Lyon are some of the more uninspired in Paris. That Marriott hotel is a complete disaster. Le coupable mérite le bûcher.

mousquet · #29 Posted **Jun 24, 2020, 7:49 PM**

^ Ah ouais ? I don't find them too bad.
There's no reason for complaining about them, except for the fact that the small ~20-story towers are all of the same height, that's boring in the skyline.
It would've been better if some had been taller, but you know, that's just zoning and regulation in the city.

LSyd · #30 Posted **Jun 28, 2020, 5:22 AM**

awesome, thanks for posting

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Minato Ku · #31 Posted **Jul 3, 2020, 10:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by montréaliste

The buildings surrounding the Gare de Lyon are some of the more uninspired in Paris. That Marriott hotel is a complete disaster. Le coupable mérite le bûcher.

A little confusion of your part.
Ilot Chalon was on the oposite side of Gare de Lyon.
On the eastern side. It's where stand the Novotel and Place Henry Frenay.

Marriott hotel is on the western side along rue de Bercy. This area used to be industrial before the redevelopment during the 1960-70s.
It has been done before the redevelopment of rue de Chalon that occured two decade later in the mid 1980s to mid 1990s.