Retail, Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville (1856)

Artist/Designer: Auguste Roy

Project Location: Paris, France

Style/Period(s):
Art Nouveau

Primary Material(s):
Glass, Stone, Steel

Function(s):
Retail Store

Related Website(s):

Significant Date(s):
11th Century, 19th Century, 1856, 20th Century, 1913

Additional Information:
Project Description:
The Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville or Le BHV Marais is a department store a part of the Groupe Galeries Lafayette. The store first opened under the name of Bazar Parisian as a small ground floor boutique by the engineer Xavier Ruel and his wife. In 1856, the store was renamed to Bazar Napoleon due to Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugenie, who helped fund an expansion of the store. In 1871, due to the fall of the Empire, Ruel once again changed the name to Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville, referring to the hotel across the street.

From 1902 to 1904, the building underwent several renovations and by 1913 a new building was completed by the architect Auguste Roy which includes the now famous rotunda which can be seen to this day. Above the main entrance are putti which each represent a department or trade related to the Grand Bazaar of the City Hall.

In 1914, Marcel Duchamp visited BHV, where he purchased his famous Bottle Rack exactly as it was shown in the sales catalogue. Sparking an artistic interest in every day objects, many other artists began visiting BHV to buy supplies.



Publications/Texts in Print:
Dubois, Eric (2006): Le Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville. In: de Andia, Béatrice (2006): Les cathédrales du commerce parisien. Action artistique de la Ville de Paris, Paris (France), pp. 60-64.

Whitaker, Jan. The Department Store: History, Design, Display. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011.

William, John. A History of the Department Store. NY: Macmillan, 1960.



Building Location:
4 Rue du Temple
75004 Paris, France


Significant Dates:
1902-1904- construction began with Granon and Roger
1913- the building is enlarged and a rotunda is built by Auguste Roy. Construction is completed.
1914- the store becomes a supplier to artists
1963- the company opens its first branch store
1966- the shop became the first in Paris to have air conditioning
1991- the store is bought by the Galeries Lafayette Group
2007-2008- the company expands its store with more specialized stores within the same neighborhood


Supporting Staff/Designers:
Founder- Ardèche Francois Xavier Ruel
Architect- Auguste Roy
Architect- Granon
Architect- Roger


Tags:
paris, france, department store, retail, Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville, Marcel Duchamp

Viewers should treat all images as copyrighted and refer to each image's links for copyright information.