Following the embarrassment of the Franco-Prussian War and the horrors of the Paris Commune, the Third Republic hoped to regain its strength and portray itself as superior to the Second Republic with the 1878 Exposition Universelle. Due to the…

At the height of his reign, Napoleon III declared that the second major Exposition Universelle would take place in 1867 on the Champ de Mars. Napoleon III hoped that by walking around the Champ de Mars, visitors would feel as though they were…

In 1931, the Palais de la porte Doree was constructed for the International Colonial Exhibition that was held in the same year. The Palais was meant to house the Museum of the Colonies, which recounted the imperialistic aims of the westernized world.…

Centuries after its initial construction as an industrial attraction for the 1889 World’s Fair (also known as the Exposition Universelles), the Eiffel tower has now become the premier symbol of Paris. In its early years, however, the massive and…