Walks through Lost Paris: A Journey into the Heart of Historic Paris

by Leonard Pitt, Alexandre Gady (Foreword)

When he discovered that the city he lived in for many years was actually entirely rebuilt during the mid-1800s, Leonard Pitt plunged into Paris's history and began photographing what he learned had changed. Eventually, he led tours and gave lectures on the demolition and reconstruction that changed the city forever. Walks through Lost Paris chronicles Paris's great periods of urban reconstruction through four walking tours. With a special focus on the work of Georges-Eugene Haussmann, this book provides a history of each site along with the motives behind the urban redesign and the reactions of Parisians who witnessed it. Detailed maps take you through a city whose changes were captured by photographers and artists in each stage. Hundreds of color photos, diagrams, and engravings splendidly survey the massive transformation that resulted in the Paris of today.

Genres: Travel, History, France, Paris, Nonfiction, Reference, Urban Studies

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 2002

Reviews

[Marcy Heller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have walked most of the streets in this book. And I have even blogged about some of the same buildings and neighborhoods, but Pitt's book adds a terrific amount of photographic research to compare streets, corner by corner, building by building, facade by facade. I am finding his documentation quite interesting and instructive. And I find the diagrams of which city blocks, or buildings were removed to widen streets, or to showcase areas quite illuminating.

In fact, today, I wandered anew the streets of his chapter on the Marais, looking for the chopped off buildings, decimated corners and remaining glimpses of yesteryear. I also didn't know that some of the medieval buildings I've photographed in the past have been rebuilt with some imagination...certainly the official City of Paris brochures don't mention any of the facade changes that Pitt has documented with archival photographs.

Where this book fails is on the emotional level. It should be up to the reader to decide the value of different construction/destruction projects. Hausmann may have been a tyrant, but history has recorded how the gentrification and linearization of the city during Napoleon III created much of what people love about Paris today. Village Saint-Paul may not be fully realized, but it still maintains its own kind of charm.

Pitt is so passionate that he ends up lecturing, leaving little to the reader to decide for his or herself. But without his passion, he probably would never have painstakingly documented the metamorphosis of Paris, so I forgive him.

[Jeff]

I’ve never seen a book quite like this one. The closest equivalents might be Jane Holtz Kay’s Lost Boston or Peter Vanderwarker’s Boston Then and Now. Before-and-after photographs of areas destroyed or radically altered in the creation of the Paris we are all familiar with (which is by no means as old as it appears to be), maps, plans, and a truly amazing amount of history (urban and otherwise) are all combined in a beautifully designed small package. I was particularly impressed by the very informative discussion of the development of the Louvre/Tuileries complex (pages 112-119). Although the automobile would eventually have made many of these mournfully chronicled demolitions necessary in any case, much else done by Baron Haussmann in the name of urban renewal now seems simply wanton destruction.

This well laid out book by an expatriate American author in love with the city presents itself in the format of a travel guide but is actually very much more. In fact, one need not be anywhere near Paris in order to enjoy it — all that’s needed are a love of Paris and an appreciation of older cities’ urban landscapes.

-Alan

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

i wished I brought this book with me on this particular trip. Nevertheless I am finding new 'history'.

When we go to Paris now we're seeing the work of a specific gentleman: Georges-Eugene Haussmann. How did he affect this magnificent city? Well the answer is 'greatly.' This book will take you through the old Paris (before the mid-1800's) and expose a culture that existed and therefore destroyed. Fascinating.

[Kseniya Melnik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feet hurt/mind blown.

[Dru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easier to read when you're actually IN Paris, but a wonderful study of how Paris changed from a Medieval city to what we see today, much of which is the work of Baron Haussmann. A lot has been lost in his sweeping away of the past.

[Lark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful photo book of very old buildings, many have been demolished or modernized, and the stories behind them.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

What did the pre-Hausman era Paris look like? This book was a great companion for self-guided walks in the older parts of the city that used photos and text to peel back time 100+ years and shared small and large details about a bygone era that helped me understand why they mattered. It was much more vivid and powerful to be standing in a location and reading about the history rather than simply reading the book anywhere.

[Annabelle]

Offert par mon frère pour mes 26 ans.

Collection remarquable avec beacoup de photos du Paris disparu (Marci la bibilothèque historique de Paris). Je possède aussi "Métro Insolite" qui propose des itinéraires...Pour les accros de l'architecture dans la mesure où ce livre peut s'averrer assez technique.

[Tammy Crompton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I loved Paris, this book takes you on a walking journey thru the streets of Paris today and then shows and tells you what the old Paris was before it was rebuilt or demolished. I found it quite interesting.

[Asta S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this before going to Paris, and thought it gave me an added familiarity with the city. It offered some historical nuggets and was a brief, enjoyable read. Recommended for tourists who want to read more than guidebook entries.

[Rat de bibliothèque · Rating 3 out of 5]

Features 4 different walks
GREAT information/history

Not exactly what I wanted right now - but will be worth looking at once more before my next visit or my eventual move.

[Lesley Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carefully selected walks, with maps, describing what was and what is, using historic pictures, postcards and the author's own photographs. Have poured over this book many times.

[Jimmie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book about the demolition and reconstruction of Paris in the past several hundred years. What price progress?

[Terrance Gelenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A labor of love-Pitt knows where all the buildings are buried.

[Terrance Gelenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better in French! Parigramme makes beautiful books.