Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Samaritaine was born in 1870 when Ernest Cognacq, a former travelling seller, rented an adjoining room near the New Bridge to open a new business. His marriage in 1872 with Marie-Louise Jaÿ, former merchant of the Bon Marché, marked a turning point: the couple modernized management (autonomous rays inspired by Aristide Boucicaut) and expanded the store by successive acquisitions. In 1900, the small business became the Great Shops of the Samaritan, extending over several blocks thanks to architect Frantz Jourdain, who imposed a flamboyant Art Nouveau style (glazed washes, glass windows, polychrome cupolas).

The shop is distinguished by its revolutionary architecture: glass slab floors placed on metal beams, allowing maximum ceiling height and optimum brightness. Between 1905 and 1910, the shop 2 was entirely rebuilt in this style, with rotundas and decorations signed Eugène Grasset or Alexandre Bigot. However, Parisians criticise its aesthetics, which are considered to be tedious. After 1910, Henri Sauvage took over for the extensions (in particular the 3 in 1930), adopting a more sober Art Deco style, with dew stone facades and stands in height.

La Samaritaine experienced its peak in the 1960s, becoming the largest Parisian store (48,000 m2) with its cult slogan "We can find everything in the Samaritan". Her commercials, featuring Queen Elizabeth II or King Kong, mark popular culture. However, as early as the 1970s, the decline began: the luxury Samaritan was closed in 1986, the area was reduced, and the LVMH group was transferred in 2001. The store closed permanently in 2005 for reasons of safety and profitability, despite its partial registration in the Historical Monuments in 1990.

The reopening in 2021, after 16 years of work and 750 million euros of investment, radically changes the premises. The controversial project saw the destruction of the historic façade of Rue de Rivoli (despite legal remedies) in favour of a contemporary corrugated glass structure signed by SANAA. The commercial offer focuses on luxury, beauty and restaurant, with a clear separation between the tourist clientele (on the Seine side) and the local (on the Rivoli side). The site also includes a five-star Cheval Blanc hotel, social housing, and a crèche, part of the overall renovation of the area (Canopée des Halles, Bourse de commerce).

The history of the Samaritan is also that of its heritage conflicts. The associations (SPPEF, SOS Paris) fought against the destruction of 17th century buildings and the facade of 1852, obtaining temporary cancellation of the building permit in 2014. The State Council finally validated the LVMH project in 2015, sacrificing part of the heritage in the name of modernization. Today, the store preserves traces of its past (golden staircase with 16,000 gold leaves, restored enamelled lavas), but its popular soul and its historical rays (quincaillery, birdry) have disappeared.

The Samaritan name derives its origin from a water pump on Bridge Nine, built under Henry IV and decorated with a biblical scene (the Samaritan at Jacob's well). Ernest Cognacq, who began as a travelling merchant near this pump (destroyed in 1813), taught him about his commercial empire. Symbol of Haussmannian Paris and the Thirty Glories, the Samaritan also illustrates the tensions between preservation and innovation, between collective memory and contemporary economic logic.

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