The station was designed by three architects: Lucien Magne, Émile Bénard and Victor Laloux. The building they designed had an eclectic façade combining different architectural styles, a glass roof and two clocks that still stand today, one in the main hall and the other in the Café des Hauteurs.

The project was seen as an anachronism. At the time, trains were considered a modern innovation, so the new station was expected to be the embodiment of modernity. The Gare d'Orsay, on the other hand, presented a façade whose style harked back to the past while hiding the most advanced technology inside.