This building was designed by Charles Garnier for Emperor Napoleon III. It is the most important specimen of the nineteenth century Second Empire Baroque style. Its construction started in 1862 and was completed in 1875.

Many are unaware that the Opera Garnier has an instrument built by Cavaillé-Coll in 1874. The latter is totally invisible to the general public since it is located on the court side at the front stage with pipes at 12 meters in height. The inauguration took place on January 8, 1875 with the representation of the "Jewish" of Fromental Halévy. From that moment on, the organ was used on a regular basis with performances of works requiring its use. However, the instrument suffered quickly from the dust caused by the settings on the stage as well as very large temperature differences. A first warning call issued in 1893 by Cavaillé-Coll himself who noticed that his instrument had never been dusted. Subsequently, the condition of the organ deteriorated further, some stops suffered from a loss of quality of their timbre. Cavaillé considered the organ "in a state of disrepair" in 1894. In 1925, following a leak in the water supply of the fire department, the organ was flooded and decommissioned. Following this incident, Cavaillé-Coll / Convers was called to carry out a restoration of the instrument with some modifications. This instrument was last used on March 23, 1959 to celebrate the centenary of the creation of "Faust" by Charles Gounod, played by the André Marchal, who returned to play it occasionally until 1964. Since 1974, the organ became unplayable. However, the original piping is still intact. This organ, unique in its kind, was classified as a Historic Monument in 1990 thanks to Norbert Dufourcq and Claude Noisette de Crauzat. Attemps to save this organ are ongoing.