Listed as a Historical Monument on October 29, 1975, the Halle au Blé (wheat market) of Alençon in the Orne department was completed in 1812 after six years of work and partially rebuilt from 1836, following a fire. Its glazed metal dome, whose plans are said to have been imagined by Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), is later than the initial building. It was added around 1865 by the architect Charles Arnoul and the engineer Charles Croquefer on the occasion of the industrial exhibition. This monumental canopy was then nicknamed the Crinoline of Alençon in reference to the puffy frame placed under dresses during the Ancien Régime.