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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The hotel Roux de Corse, located 13 rue Montgrand in the 6th arrondissement of Marseille, was built around 1745 for Jean-André Roux, a wealthy Marseille shipowner. Born into a family linked to the Antillean trade, notably with Martinique, Roux acquired a plot of 3,400 m2 in 1741 to build this private hotel. The brothers Gérard, presumed architects, are inspired by the contemporary Daviel Hotel. On the death of Jean-André in 1751, his brother Georges, dit Roux de Corse, inherited the building and organized a number of fabulous receptions, such as that of the Marshal de Richelieu in 1756, where the mayonnaise was first served in France.

Georges Roux, ruined by the Seven Years' War (1765-1766), lost his ships and rented the hotel to the Marquis de Rochechouart in 1774. After his death in 1792, his emigrant daughter could not inherit it; The hotel then houses a town hall. In 1805, the city of Marseille bought it as the residence of Prefect Thibaudeau, who undertook important work there (574,000 francs). After 1866, the hotel became a cultural place (Artistic Circle) before welcoming in 1891 the first high school of young girls in Marseille, now integrated into the Montgrand high school.

Ranked a historic monument in 1997, the hotel retains remarkable elements: facades, atrium, honorary staircase, and interior decorations of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its history reflects the changes in Marseilles, from the fascists of colonial trade to republican transformations. The fireplaces, ionic pilasters and legendary receptions make it a privileged witness to Provencal heritage.

The building also illustrates the influence of Marseille shipowners in the 18th century, such as the Roux, whose fortune was based on trade with the West Indies. Their decline, linked to wars and shipwrecks, marks a turning point in the local economy. The hotel, passed from private hands to public use, symbolizes this transition between the Old Regime and Republican modernity.

Today, Montgrand High School perpetuates this memory, while offering a preserved architectural setting. The sources, such as the works of Raoul Busquet or the prefectural archives, underline his role in Marseille urban planning and his link with figures such as the Marshal of Richelieu or the Prefect Thibaudeau.

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