New Orleans – CBD: Roosevelt Hotel – Paris Exhibition Clock


Image by wallyg
The Paris Exhibition Clock, once featured at the 1867 and 1878 Paris exhibitions, was purchased by The Roosevelt New Orleans and has been on display in its lobby since reopening in 2009. The timepiece was crafted by two of France’s most important artisans of the late 19th century–renowned clockmaker E. Farcot and sculptor Albert Ernest Carrier be Belleuse. Every Waldorf=Astoria Collection hotel features a clock with significant historical and artistic merit.

Its base, which features the clock’s face and inner mechanical movements, is carved from solid onyx marble. Atop the base, a bronze sculpture depicting a robed female figure holds a scepter. Rotating soundlessly from the female subject’s hand, the scepter provides consistent motion that adds to the clock’s sense of grandeur and mystery. From its base to the top of the bronze figure stands at nearly 10 feet tall.

Farcot, the most well-known of the French conical clock-makers, established himself in 1860 and mastered his craft over a period of 30 years, helping to popularize the unique pendulum escapement, the mechanism which controls the motion of the inner wheels. Carrier de Belleuse was one of the most important and renowned sculptors of the 19th century, as well as the teacher of Auguste Rodin. In 1857, his bronze sculptures grabbed the attention of Napoleon III, and he was commissioned for several important national works, including his most famous piece, Torchere, which still flanks the staircase of the Paris Opera House.

The Roosevelt Hotel, currently part of the Waldorf Astoria Collection, located at 123 Baronne Street, was originally opened by German immigrant, Louis Grunewald in 1893 as The Grunewald Hotel. In 1908, a major 400-room expansion was by H.C. Koch & Sons, was added. After a few more minor expansions, it was purchased by a group of local investors and renamed The Roosevelt Hotel. In 1965, The Roosevelt was acquired by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and officially renamed The Fairmont Roosevelt, and later the Fairmont New Orleans. In 2007, the property was purchased by First Class Hotels for million, and following a 0 million renovation, it was converted to one of Hilton’s premium hotels in their Waldorf Astoria Collection, reopening in 2009.

As The Grunewald, the hotel hosted "The Cave", considered by some the first nightclub in the United States. As the Fairmont, it was known for the Sazerac Bar and the Sazerac Room, with its famous Paul Ninas murals, where the Sazerac, what many consider the world’s first mixed drink, was invented. The Sazerac is a mixture of Sazerac Rye whiskey, absinthe or herbsaint, Peychaud’s Bitters, and a sugar cube.