Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The garden of the greenhouses of Auteuil came into being in 1761, when Louis XV built a botanical garden with greenhouses near his castle of the Rooster, at the current location of the 16th arrondissement. Sold in 1778 by Louis XVI, these lands were fragmented a century later. The current site was created in 1898 by the architect Jean Camille Formigé, who erected five monumental turquoise cast iron greenhouses, a fountain of Jules Dalou and mascarons of Auguste Rodin, as part of the transfer of the municipal florist garden from La Muette.

Originally, the garden extended over a much larger area, including part of the current Boulogne wood. In 1898 he became a major pole of the Jardin botanique de Paris, dedicated to horticultural production for the green spaces of the capital. The greenhouses, designed in an Art Nouveau style, housed tropical collections, while the park was embellished with works of art, such as the Dalou Bacchanal and Rodin mascarons, originally planned for the Trocadéro Palace.

In the 20th century, the garden underwent major changes: in 1968, the construction of the Peripheral Boulevard reduced its surface by a third, resulting in the partial relocation of horticultural activities. In 1998, it was listed as a historic monument for its greenhouses and landscape heritage. Between 2011 and 2021, Roland-Garros' expansion project provoked controversy due to the planned destruction of technical greenhouses and green spaces, opposing the French Tennis Federation with heritage defenders.

Today, the garden is home to nearly 5,000 plant species, organized into thematic collections (orchids, ferns, palm trees) and specialized climatic greenhouses. Its architecture combines 19th-century cast iron structures with mill buildings, such as orangery. Despite recent controversies, in 2021 he obtained the remarkable Garden label, recognizing its botanical and historical value.

Historical greenhouses, classified for their 1900 style, contrast with contemporary amenities, such as the semi-entered tennis court built in 2016. The site remains a place of culture and preservation, offering botanical exhibitions and artistic events, while embodying the tensions between heritage and modernity in Parisian urban planning.

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