This monumental arch stands in a circular area without the _barrière_ of
that name, at the end of the avenues in the _Champs Elysées_, and in
front of the Palace of the Tuileries. It is of greater size than
anything of the kind hitherto erected, being 133 feet in height,
including the cornice and attic. The fronts are 134 feet in breadth, and
the sides 67. The principal arch is 92 feet in height, and 44 in
breadth: the transverse arch 56 feet by 55½. The first stone of this
edifice, which was begun by the city of Paris to commemorate Napoleon’s
triumph over Russia, and his alliance with the Emperor Alexander at
Tilsit, was laid on the 15th of August, 1806, under the direction of
Chalgrin. From the beginning of this undertaking, the work was suspended
and renewed at intervals until its completion in 1830.
[Illustration: ARC DE TRIOMPHE DE L’ETOILE.]