THE PREFECTURE, PLACE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE
THE PALAIS DES BEAUX-ARTS.
The Prefecture is a richly ornamented building, erected in 1869 from the plans of the architect Matteau. The walls have been deeply scarred in places by shell splinters (note the white patches on the blackened façade).
The Palais des Beaux-Arts was inaugurated in 1892.
Composite in style, it is very richly ornamented. Flanked by two round pavilions with cupolas containing staircases, its principal façade is in the Rue de la République. The Museum of Lille is installed there.
THE MUSEUM OF LILLE
This is one of the finest provincial museums in France. As early as 1795 it contained 183 works of art. A Consular Decree, dated the 14th Fructidor, Year IX, added 46 paintings taken from the collections of the Louvre and Versailles. The first catalogue, dated 1850, comprised 274 works of art, which number had increased to 1,275 at the time of the inventory of January 1st, 1908.