Institut océanographique de Paris

The Institut océanographique de Paris is a Renaissance Revival building at the corner of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue Gay-Lussac, recognizable by the marine life, including crabs, jellyfish, and seahorses, carved into its brick and stone facade. Founded in nineteen oh six by Prince Albert the First of Monaco, the institution was built to promote oceanographic research and education. It shares a site with the Institute of Geography, the two structures linked by a symbolic double arch representing the connection between the Earth and the ocean.