The Paris Opera House

(image: inside staircase)

Designed by Charles Garnier, it seats 2,200 people and has seventeen stories. Seven of these floors are underground, and the lowest even contain an underground lake. Few people have ever seen the lake and lower floors, as the tours are generally only of the top floors.

Initiated by Emperor Napolean III, the Opera House was designed as a part of the Parisian reconstruction of the Second Empire. The ornate style and use of axial symmetry classify the building under the Beaux-Arts movement.

The audience sits under a huge chandelier that weighs over six tons and looks onto a stage that can fit 450 performers. A counterweight from the chandelier fell in 1896, killing one person and, along with the underground lake, inspired Gaston Leroux to compose the famous musical "The Phantom of the Opera."

Researching about the Opera House was extremely interesting. The fact that there actually is an underground lake and even a ghost makes it seem very mysterious. I really want to go to Paris now so that I can tour it!!