Théâtre des Champs-Elysées

Today, the Théâtre is without doubt one of the most beautiful performance venues in Paris. However Gabriel Astruc’s initial project foresaw the building of a Philharmonic Palace containing three stages of different dimensions at the Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées.
At the end of 1908, the project was turned down and Gabriel Astruc proposed a new site on Avenue Montaigne, in the spot where the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées emerged in 1913; it opened there on 31 March. The building is remarkable for having been designed by a group of artists: architects Henry Van de Velde, Auguste Perret, the painter and sculpter Antoine Bourdelle, the painter Maurice Denis, and the cristal maker René Lalique amongst others. It was the first construction to be made entirely out of reinforced concrete.
The Théâtre is a jewel of twentieth century French architecture; in 1957 it became one of the first modern edifices to become a listed building, figuring on the register of the Monuments Historiques. In 1970, the Caisse des Dépôts acquired the theatre and became the main patron of the Concert Hall. It was the Caisse des Dépôts that undertook a complete renovation of the building in 1985, including the Concert Hall and the Comédie; they also decided on the construction of a panoramic restaurant, the “Maison Blanche”, on the roof of the Théâtre.