Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
We ran into the Pompidou Center when we went to the Hotel de Ville for some supplies. Located in the district of Beaubourg on Paris' Right Bank, the Centre George Pompidou (or more simply, the Pompidou Center) is a factory-style structure that cuts a sharp contrast with the older, traditional buildings that surround it. It houses the Bibliothèque publique d'information, a vast public library, the Musée National d'Art Moderne which is the largest museum for modern art in Europe, and IRCAM, a centre for music and acoustic research. Because of its location, the Centre is known locally as Beaubourg. It is named after Georges Pompidou, the President of France from 1969 to 1974 who approved its creation (it was actually proposed by Charles DeGaulle), and was officially opened in 1977 by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. The Centre Pompidou has had over 150 million visitors since 1977.
