a metallic framework, which saved the structure when a fire struck the theater in 1900. The theater today can hold 2,000 spectators. Théâtre du Palais-Royal The Théâtre du Palais-Royal is located on the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal, in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais. It has 750 seats. The first theatre was built in 1784 by Victor Louis for the marionette theater of the Count of Beaujolais on its first floor. This was purchased in 1789 by the theatrical producer Mademoiselle Montansier, who had Louis rebuild it in 1791 into a larger variety theater, called the Montpensier-Variétés. The scandalous varieties of entertainment, and frequentation by prostitutes, who sought clients in the galleries of the Palais Royal, led to the theater being closed down in 1806. In 1831, under the new regime of King Louis-Philippe, it was rebuilt and reopened as a legitimate theater, staging the plays of Victorien Sardou and Eugene Labiche among others. Concerns about theater fires caused the reconstruction in 1887 of the facade, with elaborate tiers of cast-iron fire escapes and polychrome ceramics. The architect of the facade was Paul Sédille, who also designed the interior of the Printemps department store (1881-89). The theatre is now classified as a French historical monument. Gallery See also History of parks and gardens of Paris Hôtel de Rambouillet Suzanne Lagier The Louvre Palais de Tuileries References Notes Sources Ayers, Andrew (2004). The Architecture of Paris. Stuttgart: Axel Menges. . Barker, Nancy Nichols (1989). Brother to the Sund King: Philippe, Duke of Orléans. Baltimore; London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. . Brice, Germain (1687). A New Description of Paris.... Translated out of French. London: Henry Bonwicke. Copy at Google Books. Clarke, Jan (1998). The Guénégaud Theatre in Paris (1673–1680). Volume One: Founding, Design and Production. Lewiston, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press. . Fauquet, Joël-Marie, editor (2001). Dictionnaire de la musique en France au XIXe siècle. Paris: Fayard. . Hamon, Françoise (1996). "Contant d'Ivry, Pierre", vol. 7, pp. 773–774, in The Dictionary of Art, 34 volumes, edited by Jane Turner. New York: Grove. . Hemmings, F. W. J. (1994). Theatre and State in France, 1760–1905. New York: Cambridge University Press. . (2006 paperback reprint). Kennedy, Emmet; Netter, Marie-Laurence; McGregor, James P.; Olsen, Mark V. (1996). Theatre, Opera, and Audiences in Revolutionary Paris. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. . Lair, Jules (1908). Louise de La Vallière