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History of the building

The Pavillon de l'Arsenal opened in December 1988 and is located in the historic district of Paris, just a step away from the Place de la Bastille and the Marais, on the banks of the Seine. It is located on the former Louviers Islande, on the border of the old neighborhood that sheltered the King's Arsenal, a ammunition depot and gunpowder factory.

A small arm of the Seine used to separate the island from the Arsenal, built under Henri IV. In 1843, this space between the island and the right bank was filled up; the island was connected to the land and became what is known today as boulevard Morland.

The building was built according to the plans of the architect Clément in 1878-1879 at the request of Laurent-Louis Borniche (1801-1883) a private individual. This former wood dealer, installed on the Louviers Island, was a great amateur of painting and wanted to construct a "popular museum" to present his collection of some 2000 paintings. After he died in 1883, his daughter sold most of its paintings and rented the building to the pasta society Rivoire & Carret. The building then became an alcohol sales counter and a restaurant before being bought by La Samaritaine in 1922. La Samaritaine installed its clothing workshops in the building from 1931 to 1954, when the City of Paris acquired the building to stock its archives.

After being rehabilitated by the architects Bernard Reichen and Philippe Robert, this characteristic building of the end of the 19th century architecture gets back to its prime function after the opening of the Pavillon de l'Arsenal in 1988.