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Why was Longchamp Palace built above Marseille?

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View of the old port of Marseille, France, with numerous boats docked in the harbor and the city's terracotta-roofed buildings rising up a hill, topped by the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica. — Marseille Seaside view of the Old Port of Marseille, France.

The Longchamp Palace was not built as a palace in the traditional sense; rather, it was constructed to disguise a distribution reservoir designed to solve a serious water shortage in Marseille.1

During the 19th century, the city faced significant water supply challenges, which were addressed between 1837 and 1848 by a project that diverted water from the Durance River. To integrate this essential infrastructure into the city's landscape, the reservoir was encased within the elaborate architecture of the Longchamp Palace. Today, the structure serves as a cultural landmark, housing the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Fine Arts.1