Caserne de la Cité

The Caserne de la Cité is a massive stone building recognizable by its neo-Florentine style, featuring six distinct pavilions decorated with sculpted stone trophies, eagles, and blazons. Built between eighteen sixty-three and eighteen sixty-seven under the direction of architect Pierre-Victor Calliat, the structure occupies a large city block on the Île de la Cité. It was originally designed to house the Paris Guard, but its function changed rapidly during the political turmoil of the late nineteenth century.