Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand and the Promenades in the 19th Century Paris

In the middle of the 19th century, Napoleon III launched the famous renovation of Paris. This not only promoted Paris as the capital of modernity, but also developed a unique mixed urban park style that influenced the construction of parks throughout Europe. However, Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand, the principal designer of the promenades in Paris, has not received enough attention from academia. On the basis of primary materials in English and French, this paper explores how Alphand introduced English picturesque gardens, improved plant application, and created mixed urban park style. Also, this paper explores how the designed landscapes that Alphand created represented a kind of citizen power and imperial glory for the newly founded Second French Empire, which endures to the present.