Pei’s Pyramids No Cure for the Louvre

Nicolai Ouroussoff must never have seen the Louvre before I.M. Pei’s pyramids were built in the courtyard (“Pei Could Cure Medical Facility,” June 11).

Apart from the tremendous controversy these evoked, the pyramid entrance has been a practical fiasco.

Those of us who knew and used the four former entrances were horrified to see the many long lines snaking to the pyramid. Pei created congestion beyond belief and a dismal experience in the rain.

Fortunately, two larger entrances have been provided subsequently, one from the Metro Line 1 station and the other from street level on the Rue de Rivoli.

Further, Pei did not--by any stretch of the imagination--transform “a vast maze of intimate rooms stuffed with art into an efficient people-moving machine.” The new main entrance, which was moved below ground, is more efficient than the three it replaced (the back entrance was left intact). That is because of the design, which still leaves much to be desired when one moves from it into any of the three wings of the museum.

Even Pei’s pyramids’ staunchest admirers would probably concede that the steam cleaning of the exterior of the Louvre had a far greater beneficial impact on the appearance of the building. The massive redevelopment of the Tuilleries, now almost complete, will make that approach breath-taking, rendering the pyramids inconsequential.

DAVID W. HARLOWE

Tarzana