Paris Looks To Revitalize Former Central Marketplace

"Since its elegant 19th-century steel-and-glass markets were torn down in the early 1970s, failure has been the zone's leitmotiv. The so-called Forum and the landscaped gardens which replaced the 12 pavilions have never been popular, but attempts to replace them have frequently tripped up."

"The real challenge facing architects Berger and Anziutti, though, is that they are not starting from scratch: they are expected to build something new without replacing all the old."

"The razing of Les Halles some 35 years ago led first to what became known as the "black hole" of Paris, an enormous area of excavated land which scarred the city for almost a decade as arguments raged over what should be built."

"When the Forum was finally inaugurated in 1981 by the city's mayor at the time, Jacques Chirac, most construction had taken place below ground, notably with an enormous station serving the metro system and the RER regional train network and five levels of shops linked by escalators. Resembling steel-and-glass mushrooms, the buildings above the ground included a small museum and other shops."