1900 – Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France

The Orsay station, the masterpiece of modernism and industry in 1900 greatly influenced the architecture of American stations. Yet it was soon obsolete and was used for varied purposes: it welcomed the returning prisoners of war in 1945; it hosted a press conference by General de Gaulle on his return to power in 1958; the shooting of The Trial by Orson Welles in 1962; it was also used as an auction hall; a theatre and, finally converted into a museum of art.