Creation of Dauphine Square vers 1745 (≈ 1745)
Ordained by Intendant Tourny to embellish Bordeaux.
1750
Financing of uniform facades
Financing of uniform facades 1750 (≈ 1750)
Borrowing contracted by the Bordeaux Jurats.
1762
Simplification of facades
Simplification of facades 1762 (≈ 1762)
New plan adopted under intendant Boutin.
1770-1780
Completion of the square
Completion of the square 1770-1780 (≈ 1775)
Style preserved despite late work.
15 novembre 1927
Registration for Historic Monuments
Registration for Historic Monuments 15 novembre 1927 (≈ 1927)
Protection of the facade and roof.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The façade and the roof (Box KW 0246): inscription by decree of 15 November 1927
Key figures
Intendant Tourny - Urbanist and administrator
Initiator of Dauphine Square in 1745.
Jurats de Bordeaux - Municipal magistrates
Finished the facades in 1750.
Intendant Boutin - Royal Administrator
Validated the new plan in 1762.
Origin and history
The house located 39 Gambetta square in Bordeaux is part of a major architectural complex of the eighteenth century, designed as part of the urbanization of the city under the impulse of Intendant Tourny. Around 1745, the latter ordered the creation of a square (then called Place Dauphine, today Gambetta) on lands west of the Dauphine and Dijeaux gates, in a global project of sanitation and beautification of Bordeaux. This project was part of a desire to modernize the city, with strict rules of uniformity for facades.
In 1750, the Jurats of Bordeaux made a loan to finance the construction of the buildings, whose facades had to follow a uniform pattern: a ground floor with arcades, a noble floor, an attic and an attic. The original project, plus ornaments (vant-corps and balustrades), was simplified in 1762 by an architect not named in the sources. The modifications removed these elements to adopt a sober entanglement and a climax, while maintaining the classic style of the first half of the 18th century. The square was only completed between 1770 and 1780, but its style reflected earlier aesthetic cannons.
The buildings of Gambetta Square are distinguished by their stone-cut facade, with regular arcades on the ground floor (bossages surrounding the doors), a small window space, and window doors decorated with carved mascarons on the first floor. Some buildings have a second floor. The square, rectangular, is an urban crossroads where the main routes of the city converge. The house of 39 Gambetta Square has been protected since 1927 for its facade and roof, illustrating the heritage importance of this complex.
The classical ordinance of these buildings met a desire for symmetry and harmony, characteristic of the French royal squares. In Bordeaux, this project was also part of a thriving economic and social dynamic, the city being a major port of Atlantic trade (wine, sugar, slaves). Dauphine-Gambetta Square thus symbolized the prestige of the merchant bourgeoisie and local elites, while serving as a meeting place and exchange in the heart of the city.
