Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Guimard building of the Rue Saint-Maur station is an iconic architectural element of the Paris metro, designed by Hector Guimard in the Art Nouveau style. It marks entry No. 1 of the station, opened on October 19, 1904 with the commissioning of the first section of line 3, between Villiers and Père Lachaise. This edicle, inscribed in historical monuments since 1978, symbolizes the visual identity of the Parisian metro at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The Rue Saint-Maur station, originally called Saint-Maur, owes its name to the proximity of the eponymous street, an old road linking the abbeys of Saint-Maur and Saint-Denis. In 1998, it was renamed Rue Saint-Maur to avoid confusion with the commune of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. Its docks, renovated between 1974 and 1984, adopt the decorative style Andreu-Motte, characterized by orange brown light ramps and an original bevelled white tile.

Of the station's four accesses, only the Guimard Building (access #1) is protected as historical monuments, with a renewed inscription in 2016. The other subway mouths, with balustrades in the 1930s Derval style, contrast with this Art Nouveau heritage. The station, without connections to the bus network, is also distinguished by its moderate traffic, with nearly 3 million passengers in 2019.

The surrounding area, marked by institutions such as ESCP Business School or Voltaire High School, benefits from the proximity of squares (Georges-Sarre, Maurice-Gardette) and cultural places such as the Atelier des Lumières. The Guimard edicle, by its unique aesthetic, remains a valuable testimony to the history of Parisian transport and the architectural heritage of the Belle Époque.

External links