Early buildings Between 1574 and 1584
Jean Bullant (1515–78) built a
hôtel particulier (grand house) on the site for
Catherine de' Medici (1519–89). A tower with an encaged observation platform, now called the
Medici column, was built beside the
hôtel from which observations of the stars could be made for astrological purposes. The Queen's
hôtel was bought by
Charles de Bourbon-Condé, Count of Soissons, who repaired and enlarged it. The hotel became called the
Hôtel de Soissons. The indebted last owner was
Victor Amadeus of Savoy (1690–1741). After his death the hotel was demolished in 1748 and the materials sold to pay the creditors. The
city of Paris bought the column from its first owner, Laurent Destouches, which saved it from destruction. Between 1763 and 1767 the City of Paris built a circular building on the site for the storage and sale of wheat. The
Halle aux blés (Wheat Exchange) was designed by
Nicolas Le Camus de Mézières with a circular central courtyard and a double staircase. The layout of that building has been retained. From 1782 to 1783 a wooden dome was built to a design by
Jacques-Guillaume Legrand and
Jacques Molinos based on the principles defined by
Philibert de l'Orme. On 16 October 1802 the cupola was destroyed by fire. A new design by
François-Joseph Bélanger for an iron dome covered in sheets of copper was selected after some controversy.
Victor Hugo described the dome in his 1831 novel
Notre-Dame de Paris as an English jockey-cap on a large scale. The wheat exchange was closed in 1873. In 1885 the building was assigned to the Commodities Exchange. Until then the exchange had been housed in the
Palais Brongniart. File:Soisson.jpg|
Hôtel de Soissons File:Halleauble1838.jpg|Wheat exchange in 1838 File:Vouteshalles.jpg|Vaulted attic of the wheat exchange
1886 renovation In 1885
Henri Blondel began a major renovation of the building. Construction took place between 1888 and 1889. It incorporated elements from the Hôtel de Soissons, from the Halle aux blés of Nicolas Le Camus de Mézières and from the second cupola covering that hall by Belanger. The building designed by Blondel still had a circular shape, with 25 bays separated by two pilasters. Blondel retained but modified the cupola. The 18th century double staircase was also retained. The entrance portico is surmounted by a pediment supported by four fluted Corinthian columns on which three allegorical figures by the sculptor
Aristide Croisy represent the City of Paris flanked by Trade and Abundance. The interior of the rotunda was decorated by the painters
Alexis-Joseph Mazerolle,
Évariste Vital Luminais,
Désiré François Laugée,
Georges Clairin and Hippolyte Lucas. Painted panels depict characters that symbolize North, East, South, and West, and frescoes represent the history of trade between the five continents.
Recent years The City of Paris sold the building to the
Paris Chamber of Commerce for one symbolic
franc in 1949. The murals and cupola were classified as a historical monument on 15 January 1975. A major renovation was undertaken in 1989. The murals were restored in 1998. The building may be reached by metro from the stations
Louvre – Rivoli and
Les Halles, and by
Réseau Express Régional from the
Châtelet les Halles station. ==Use as a stock exchange==