Charles Garnier, L'Opéra

When this specific building was constructed (from 1861 to 1874) it sparked Beaux-Arts historicism (or Baroque Revival) because it connected to human senses. The interesting thing about the ariel view of this building is not the opera house itself, but the roads. 

Notice how wide the roads are. At first glance we think "okay...this is pretty typical, what's the big deal?" The use of wide roads in this area time period was actually quite innovative. This allowed for opening up of population as well as facilitated transportation. The key factor, however, is that it allows for more governmental control. 

In my first blog, I wrote about "Liberty Leading the People." If people were to rebel now like they did during the French Revolution, the French Government could squash the rebelling French citizens. As soon as professor Caffey told us interesting bit of information, I thought of one of my favorite movies "V for Vendetta." Though the movie takes place in England instead of France, I thought about the wide roads and how easily the government could have contained the people had they not been saved by the masked Vigilante "V."