In 1878, the Société des Bains de Mer demolished its casino at Monte Carlo and rebuilt the whole complex in under six months.
So business didn’t halt over these six months; they moved play temporarily to the Hôtel de Paris, a hotel just 160 meters away from them.
Charles Garnier was the architect behind the theatre and gaming room, the man behind the Paris Opéra, a 19th-century theatre that many deem a “masterpiece”.
He took inspiration from this design, which is why the building has the unique dome that it’s known for.
Six Months and What They Bought
The rebuild itself was fast to the point of recklessness. The old casino came down in 1878, and the new one was up in under six months. Impressive even with today’s technology and equipment.
During this time, they worked on it night and day. Once the six months were over, they didn’t just have the floor space complete, but the dome, the two pinnacles, and the interior finished to a standard many could never achieve.
In the same year, architect Jules Dutrou added the atrium. This is a 28-column atrium, stucco-topped, carrying a gallery lit by a bronze candelabrum, still remarkably fast for its time.
The expansion didn’t stop there, however. It carried on for decades. Garnier later added the Salle des Amériques in 1881, and Jules Touzet contributed two further rooms in 1890.
Interiors as the Principal Expense
What distinguishes these buildings the most is where the money went.
Monte Carlo’s gaming rooms run in a sequence of interiors rather than a single hall, which is unique. Stained glass, allegorical painting, sculpture, bronze lamps, and each room is finished to a standard that nobody expected. The same type of instinct produced the Kurhaus at Baden-Baden and the resort casinos alongside the Normandy coast.
These were rooms to be looked at. A table game, like blackjack, just needs a surface and a light above it. However, they took it far beyond this expectation, turning the interior into not just a must-have, but a feature that kept a certain type of clientele at the establishment.
Rooms that Are Now Broadcast
The 19th-century interior looked and still looks incredible; however, with technological advancement, it has an unexpected afterlife.
A Great Britain casino offering live roulette, blackjack, and other table games tends to name the grandest rooms they can reach, for example, MGM Grand and Bellagio. Therefore, a building that people are standing in does the same work through a camera, for an audience that may never even walk through the door.
Garnier understood his assignment well. Make the rooms in Monaco fast and in a way that made them worth being in. Back then, it worked as it brought footfall to the building; now, however, it could be for anyone to enjoy with a live connection.
What Survives
The Salle Garnier still operates each season, the atrium still carries its columns, and the dome and pinnacles remain unchanged.
This is far longer than most 19th-century commercial buildings. However, these buildings outlasted fashion changes because of their sheer quality.
