1-3 Place Saint-Michel as seen from Place Saint-Michel in Paris, France. Buildings such as this, originally an apartment building, exemplify the building codes which enforced the look of Paris created by Baron Haussmann during the reign of Napoleon III  These <i>immeubles haussmanniens</i> were generally subject to complex rules which determined their heights, depths and rooflines, and Haussmann personally designed the facades of the buildings around the Place.  They provided homes for the middle class, and their street levels held shops and restaurants, as they do today.  Built before the invention of the elevator, servants lived in the top floors. (Source: <i>How to Read Paris</i> p.108)
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