On entering the Grand Palais, the eye is drawn to the monumental double staircase leading to the Salon d’Honneur, with its round-headed door, now walled in. The staircase was designed by the architect Albert Louvet and built by Moisant-Laurent-Savey company, who had already built the French Pavilion at the 1876 World Fair in Philadelphia. In 1900, Art Nouveau was in fashion and the staircase is full of references to this style. Huge columns of green porphyry are corseted with twisted metal that rises in metallic volutes. The initials “RF” testify to the French Republic’s involvement in the building of the monument.