Louvre Pyramid a thorough redesign, including better access to the pyramid and the Passage Richelieu. Louvre Pyramid The Louvre Pyramid (Pyramide du Louvre) is a large glass and metal pyramid designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) in Paris. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. Completed in 1989, it has become a landmark of the city of Paris. Commissioned by the President of France, François Mitterrand, in 1984, it was designed by the architect I. M. Pei. The structure,
Paris in the 18th century followed by a famine in the winter of 1692-1693. Dozens of large ovens were built in the courtyard of the Louvre to bake bread for the poor, but the distribution of the loaves at central points around the city resulted in fighting and riots. That winter, fourteen or fifteen people a day died of hunger at the Hôtel Dieu hospital next to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. Another bad harvest and severe winter hit Paris in 1708-1709, with temperatures reaching below 20 degrees (Celsius). The Seine froze from January 26 until April 5, making it impossible to deliver grain to the