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Protecting the past

Albert Robida and the Vieux Paris exhibit at the 1900 World’s Fair

Montclair State University, emerye{at}montclair.edu

The 1900 Paris World’s Fair prided itself on the modernity of its exhibits. Paradoxically, however, one of its most successful attractions proved to be Le Vieux Paris, a picturesque model city built along the Seine to ‘bring Old Paris back to life’. Designer Albert Robida chose not only to create a picturesque and entertaining model of life in old France, but to construct the exhibit as a locus of cultural memory. In it he glorified French accomplishments, while attempting to redress his contemporaries’ neglect of their shared architectural and literary heritage. Using the popular exhibit as a device for celebrating national achievement, he inspired widespread appreciation of French heritage, thereby invigorating a nascent conservation moment.

Key Words: conservation • Exposition universelle • living museum • nationalism • Old Paris

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