Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The School of Weaving of Lyon was founded in 1883 by the municipality of Antoine Gailleton to train silk workers, replacing intermittent courses given since 1847 at the Palais Saint-Pierre. Originally reserved for Lyon teenagers aged between 14 and 16, she offered free day-to-day and theoretical courses in the evening, with a system of scholarships for modest families. Installed at 41 General Giraud courses on the slopes of the Croix-Rousse, it was rapidly successful, extending its training to adults and related techniques (broderie, maintenance of trades).

In 1889, a post-secondary education was created, followed in 1890 by an industrial drawing course and in 1897 by a section for stationers (weaving technicians). The peak occurred in 1926–27 with 1,067 students, before a decline due to the silk crisis. The new premises, designed by Tony Garnier and inaugurated in 1934, included industrial workshops covered with sheds and a villa for the director, attributed to Jean Faure. The school then became a symbol of the social and economic concerns of the early twentieth century.

During the Second World War, the premises hosted a supply office. In 1942, the municipal school was transformed into a higher school, and in 1968, the technical school passed under the authority of the Lyon Urban Community. After a merger in 1988 with ESCPEA to form the ITECH-Lyon, the former school was integrated into Martinière. Today, the site remains a major testimony of the Lyon textile heritage, classified as a historical monument in 1991 for its main building, its workshops and the director's villa.

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