Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The building of the 140bis rue de Rennes, located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, was erected in 1904 to house a store of the food house Felix Potin. Designed by architect Paul Auscher and general contractor E. Devillette, this ten-storey reinforced concrete building was a technical innovation for the time. It combined commercial spaces (subsoil, ground floor, basement) dedicated to the sale of food and luxury products, with offices and accommodation on the upper floors. Its architecture reflected the logistical and advertising needs of a large emerging distribution brand.

The exterior decoration of the building, although partially preserved, still bears witness to its original Art Nouveau style. The archatures on the ground floor had mosaics listing the products sold (tea, chocolates, fish, etc.), while the turret, crowned with an openworked campanile, proudly carried the sign "Félix Potin". These elements underline the sign's desire to visually mark its anchor in the Parisian landscape, while illustrating the rise of department stores at the turn of the 20th century.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1975 for its facades and roofs, the building now embodies a rare industrial and commercial heritage. Although its interior decoration has disappeared, its structure and some exterior details (such as mosaic cartridges) recall its original use. The building also illustrates the architectural adaptation to new forms of urban consumption, where logistics, advertising and housing coexisted in the same building.

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