AN INTERIOR GALLERY OF THE BOURSE
Of the four doors ornamented with scroll-work, horns of plenty and royal coats of arms, in the four sides of the edifice, one gives access to the interior courtyard which is lined with four wide arcaded galleries. Doric columns of polished black stone support the vaulting, which is of brick, with binding ribs and nerves of white stone. On the plinth are heads of leopards connected by garlands of flowers and foliage. A bronze statue by Lemaire, representing Emperor Napoléon I., protector of the national industries, stands in the middle of the courtyard. This statue was inaugurated in 1854, and was cast from old presses from the Mint of Lille, which had previously been made from guns taken at Austerlitz.
The interior galleries of the Bourse were decorated in 1850.
Facing each of the bays formed by the intercolumniations are large tablets of marble surrounded by carvings, which recall those of the façade. In the midst of this sculpture are the symbols of commerce, industry and science. Inscriptions recall the most important dates and institutions relating to the commerce and industry of Lille. The busts over them represent great inventors or learned men (Jacquart, Philippe de Girard, Chaptal, Brongniart, Chevreul).
On leaving the Bourse, cross the square to the left, and enter the Place de Rihour.
At the corner of the Grand Place, the black façade of the Grand' Garde decorated with trophies and curved pediments bearing the arms of France and Lille, should be noticed. A large shell-hole in the left-hand pediment has been temporarily bricked up.
Cross the ruins of the Hôtel de Ville, burnt down on April 24th 1916 (photo below), at the time of the deportations. To the right, abutting on the Hôtel de Ville, is the Palais de Rihour which escaped damage from the fire.
THE HÔTEL DE VILLE, BURNT DOWN ON THE NIGHT OF APRIL 24, 1916