- La Piscine (museum of art and industry)
La Piscine is a museum of art and industry, located in the city of
Roubaix inFrance . It is more formally known as La Piscine-Musée d'Art et d'Industrie André Diligent or Le musée d'Art et d'Industrie de la ville de Roubaix, but its common name derives from the fact that it is housed in a former indoorswimming pool , with a notable art deco interior.History of the museum
The swimming pool was constructed between 1927 and 1932 by the
Lille architectAlbert Baert . It closed as a swimming pool in 1985, and was remodelled as a museum by the architectJean-Paul Philippon , opening in 2000. A modern entrance building, special exhibition space and garden were constructed within the roof-less shell of a adjoining textile factory.Based on a translation of the article "La Piscine, Musée d'Art et d'Industrie (Roubaix)" from the French Wikipedia. Retrieved on2008 -04-07.] cite web | title = Building | url = http://www.roubaix-lapiscine.com/index.php?lang=2 | publisher = Musée La Piscine de Roubaix | accessdate = 2008-04-08]The museum's permanent collection has its origins in 1835, when a collection of fabric samples from the many local textile factories was started. By 1898 the collection was housed in the National High School of Arts and Textile Industry (ENSAIT), and was seen as a way of cultivating the tastes of the town's workers, foremen and manufacturers. To this end the collection combined elements of literature, fine-arts, science and industrial products. The ENSAIT museum closed with the onset of
World War II , and never reopened. From 1899 the collections were displayed in Roubaix's town hall, in preparation for the opening of La Piscine in 2000.cite web | title = Building | url = http://www.roubaix-lapiscine.com/index.php?lang=2 | publisher = Musée La Piscine de Roubaix | accessdate = 2008-04-08]References
External links
* [http://www.roubaix-lapiscine.com/ Web site of the museum (in French)]
* [http://www.roubaix-lapiscine.com/index.php?lang=2 Web site of the museum (in English)]
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