Town hall of Paris 5th arrondissement, Government building at Place du Panthéon, France
The town hall of Paris's 5th arrondissement, also known as the Mairie du 5e, is a Neoclassical administrative building set on Place du Panthéon, with a symmetrical facade and large windows. The building spans several floors and holds both administrative offices and ceremonial reception rooms used for official events.
A law of 2 July 1844 led to the building's design by Jean-Baptiste Guenepin; Jacques Hittorff completed most of it in 1849. Pierre-Victor Calliat handled the interior between 1866 and 1870, taking inspiration from the law faculty facing it across the square, which dates from 1770. The building soon proved too small, and reconstruction work began in 1921.
The wedding hall holds a marble bust of Marianne sculpted by Wermare. In the stairwell of honour, five stretched canvases painted by Henri Martin in 1932–1935 depict the Jardin du Luxembourg; the polyptych, finished at the end of his career, is a post-Impressionist work by a painter known for his treatment of light.
The building sits directly on Place du Panthéon, in the heart of the Latin Quarter, and is easy to reach on foot from nearby metro stations. Public access is generally limited to the entrance area, so it is worth checking in advance whether guided visits or open days are available.
In December 1935 this town hall was one of six sites in the capital chosen for France's first public television broadcasts. From 1932 to 1989 the top floor under the roof housed the Marguerite-Durand library, and the wedding room holds a marble bust of Marianne by Wermare.
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