The market of the Little Fields In the 11th century, a market grew up by a cemetery to the northwest of Paris in an area called the Little Fields (). This was mainly a
dry goods and money changing market. A bishop briefly took control of the market before sharing control with
Louis VI in 1137. In 1183,
Philip Augustus took full control of the market and built two market halls – – to protect the textiles. He also built walls around the market, including land which had recently been confiscated from
exiled Jews that originally belonged to the church. When he then built walls around the city, these embraced the market, which quickly became the city's largest (and, over time, went from being at the edge of the city to at its center). Officially, it would remain a dry goods market for centuries, but food stalls soon grew up around the main buildings and by the 15th century
food prices at les Halles were being cited as significant for the whole city. The market would have ups and downs over the coming centuries and was rebuilt more than once. Over time, an increasing number of halls were built explicitly for food, but the dry goods market remained central to the (increasingly cramped) space.
The wholesale market The
church of Saint-Eustache was constructed in the 16th century. The circular
Halle aux Blés (Corn Exchange), designed by
Nicolas Le Camus de Mézières, was built between 1763 and 1769 at the west end of Les Halles. Its circular central court was later covered with a dome, and it was converted into the
Bourse de Commerce in 1889. In the 1850s,
Victor Baltard designed the famous glass and iron structure which would house les Halles for over a century and became one of the sights of Paris; this would last until the 1970s. Having become entirely a food market, the remodeled market was known as the "Belly of Paris", as
Émile Zola called it in his 1873 novel , which is set in the busy marketplace of the 19th century.
Major conversion Unable to compete in the new market economy and in need of massive repairs, the colourful ambience once associated with the bustling area of merchant stalls disappeared in 1973, when Les Halles was demolished (fruit, flower and vegetable markets had moved in 1969, and only the butchers at the meat markets remained); the wholesale market was relocated to the suburb of
Rungis. Historian Donato Severo called the events "the most violent act ever committed against the heritage of Paris", with architect Lloyd Alter adding that the replacement complex was "nearly universally reviled for its mean spirit".
21st century redesign Against that background, in 2002 Mayor
Bertrand Delanoë announced that the City of Paris would begin public consultations regarding the remodeling of the area, calling Les Halles "a soulless, architecturally bombastic concrete jungle". A design competition for the Forum and gardens was held, with entries from
Jean Nouvel,
Winy Maas,
David Mangin, and
Rem Koolhaas. Mangin's design for the gardens, which proposed replacing the landscaped mounds and paths of the 1980s design with a simplified pattern of east–west pedestrian promenades and a large central lawn, was selected. The plan also included extending the pedestrianized area further east to include all the streets bordering the gardens. Another competition was held for the redesign of the Forum. Ten teams submitted plans, and the proposal by
Patrick Berger and
Jacques Anziutti was selected in 2007. Their design included a large undulating glass canopy covering the redesigned Forum. construction finished in 2018. ==In popular culture==