Paris Time Patrol. Final countdown…

“Louvre, Pavillon de Flore, early 21st century.”

“Captain, if I may?”

“Yes, Scotty. You may.”

“We’re running out of fuel, Sir, I mean material.”

“I know Scotty. There’s probably only one post left. We’ll find something. Meantime, let’s move to 1964, please.”

“Roger that.”

“Louvre. Pavillon de Flore*. Scotty, you sure this is ’64?”

“Winter ’63, Sir. November 11th to be precise.”

“Thank you Scotty. Y’all note how dark and sooty the Louvre was in the early sixties. That was before Malraux’s famous law. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s jump Scotty.”

“Roger that, Sir. All stations: ready to jump.”

“Louvre, early 21st century. Pavillon de Flore to the right. In the background, the Louvre Richelieu, which leads to the Rue de Rivoli. That half of the Louvre was occupied by the Secretary of the Treasury and Finance up till the late ’80’s, when it was handed over to the Museum. The wretched pyramid is hidden behind the Pavillon de Flore.”

“Statue of Liberty*, Paris, most likely winter of 1963, as you can see from the ice-panes in the foreground. It is very rare for the Seine to freeze. The statue of Liberty by Bartholdi is on the Pont de Grenelle, east of the Eiffel Tower. The original on Liberty Island was entirely designed and produced in France by sculptor Bartholdi as a gift from France to America. Originally planned to be delivered to the US on 1876, for obvious reasons, several unfortunate delays in production led to the final delivery in 1886… I hope there were no penalties…”

“There are five versions of the Statue of Liberty in Paris. This one stands in the garden of Luxembourg. (See a previous Time-Patrol) This was the original model which Bartholdi used to design the final statue. Placed in the gardens in 1906, it was replaced in the early 21st century by the copy we see here for conservation purposes.”

“And where are the other three statues in Paris, Sir?”

“Not a clue, Scotty. Only found this one two years ago. Let’s find out on a next trip, shall we?”

“Pont de Grenelle again. You can see the Eiffel tower in the distance. This was a photo expo (c. 2014) on the banks of the Seine of a sixties fashion show. Shoes are very typical of that era.”

“Palais de Chaillot, Trocadéro*, c.1964. Taken from below the Eiffel Tower. The two wings house several precious museums. Navy, Man, Monuments… The inscriptions on top of the buildings are by Poet Paul Valéry. This one reads: “Il dépend de celui qui passe / que je sois tombe ou trésor / que je parle ou me taise / ceci ne tient qu’a toi / ami n’entre pas sans désir.”

“It depends on who passes by / that I be tomb or treasure / that I speak or not / that is up to you / Friend, do not enter without desire.”

Palais de Chaillot, early 21st century with the two wings. The sculpture in the foreground is “Youth; La jeunesse” by Pierre Poisson. 1937. 2 years before WWII. Hitler stood between the two buildings after the defeat in 1940.

“The victory of Samothrace*, Louvre, c.1964. By far one of my favourite pieces at the Louvre, way above Mona Lisa or the Venus of Milo. Probably from the Hellenistic period (Alexander the great, around 3rd century BC), it represents Niké, the Greek goddess of Victory. Jump Scotty, please?”

“Jump in two seconds.”

“The victory, early 21st century. Muuuuch more crowded.”

Captain, Chief Engineer Scotty and crew thank you for jumping around with us on Equinoxio’s Time-Space shuttle. Y’all be safe naw, ye hear? Too many loonies on the loose.”

1963-64 images come from “The Paris I love”, printed  on the 15th of May 1964. (c) by Editions Sun Paris. World rights reserved. Printed in France by Draeger and Braun. Photographs (marked with a *) by Patrice Molinard. The recent ones are mine.