The Lutetian Limestone

By Tammy Martin

One thing that struck me when we walked the streets of Paris the 1st night, is that all the buildings were similar in height with about 4-8 stories (the skyscrapers are mostly located in the La Défense area), and they were similar in color and smoothness. They are quite lovely! I wanted to know more about why they all looked so similar. I discovered that the "City of Light" owes this glamorous look to the many buildings built with something called Lutetian Limestone, aka Paris stone. The material is a warm, cream-grey stone that has been used as a building material since Roman times. It is limestone mined north of the Paris area. The city used to be called Lutetia (before Paris) when the Celtics founded it, and that is where the stone’s name comes from. It has contributed greatly to the unique visual appeal of Paris. The stone was used in many of the grandest Paris buildings including parts of the Louvre, the Place de la Concorde, and Les Invalides. The best news about it? You never need to paint it!