Place Edmond Rostand
Place Edmond Rostand is a roundabout located at the intersections of four streets in front of the Luxembourg Garden: Rue de Médicis, Boulevard Saint-Michel, Rue Soufflot, and Rue Gay-Lussac. The roundabout was created between 1860 to 1870 during Baron Haussmann’s urban renewal project, a colossal campaign that tore down old Parisian neighborhoods and replaced them with wide streets and boulevards.
To the left in the photograph stands Rue de Médicis. To permit the construction of this street in 1860, a portion of the Luxembourg Garden was appropriated despite resistance from Parisians who wanted to preserve that section of the park.
The buildings that stand today around Place Edmond Rostand were constructed during this period of massive urban transformation. Called “Haussmannian” buildings, they reflect the architectural style that Baron Haussmann imposed on the city during the demolition and rebuilding that took place in Paris under his authority from 1853 to 1870.
