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Origin and history

Granville Casino is an Art Deco-style gaming establishment, inaugurated in 1911 in the town of Granville (Manche, Normandy). It replaces a former sea bath lounge, itself replacing a modest "cabin" welcoming the first tourists. Sponsored by American billionaire Frank Jay Gould and Belgian promoter Georges Bonheur, it is designed by Parisian architect Auguste Bluysen, also author of the casinos of Touquet or Bagnoles-de-l'Orne. Its architecture combines Fine Arts influences and picturesque Norman, with a studded facade and a terrace overlooking the sea. The initial program includes playrooms, cafes, theatres, and galleries facing the ocean.

In 1925, Bluysen remodeled the casino in an Art Deco style: the wooden pergola gives way to a concrete structure, the facades are laid out, and the interiors (restaurant, reception room) are modernized. The adjacent hotel was renovated in 1928. In 1957, the theatre was enlarged to accommodate concerts and cinema, before its closure in 1975. Repurchased in 1991, the casino reopened after ten years of construction, now home to the Archipelago Theatre. Its partial inscription to historical monuments (1992) protects its facades, campaniles, pergola, and the decoration of the entrance hall.

The building, built on a rocky promontory, evokes an Indian palace by its two gazebos connected by a pergola. Interior combines art nouveau and regionalism, while its creation has driven the development of the seaside area of Granville, with the construction of many villas on the cliffs. A unique casino in the Manche department, it symbolizes the golden age of Norman seaside resorts in the early 20th century.

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