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Origin and history

Hotel Columbus de Daunant was an emblematic civil building of Nîmes, built in the last quarter of the 19th century. Located at 23 Fénelon Street, it was erected in 1886 by architect Louis Poinsot for Armand Columbus de Daunant, a lawyer, on a plot close to the old bed of the Vistre. The hotel, in classic style, reflected the simplicity associated with this Protestant family. Its architecture was distinguished by a main door topped by a full arched window, framed by two four-slope roofed pavilions. Inside, neat details such as mosaics, red marble fireplaces and period carpentry were evidence of its quality.

The building had several uses: initially a private residence with a law firm, it will later house the municipal services of Nîmes, especially those dedicated to urban planning. In the 1980s, it benefited from an ambitious rehabilitation programme. Despite its inscription in the Historic Monuments in 2010, thanks to the mobilization of local residents, it was never classified. A fire in July 2013, partially affecting the roofs, precipitated its demolition on 23 August 2013. This decision, challenged in particular by the DRAC Languedoc-Roussillon, aroused criticism because of the protected status of the building, the rehabilitation of which was considered possible.

The destruction of the Hotel Columbus de Daunant is part of a real estate project integrating its park with a new set. The architect of the Bâtiments de France, Jacques Dreyfus, issued several opinions in favour of this project. The protected elements, i.e. facades and roofs, were inscribed by order of 8 October 2010. The building, owned by an association before its disappearance, preserved traces of its past, such as a grid from Saint Baudile church. Its architecture, marked by a massed plan and a four-slope roof, as well as its quality materials, bore witness to the Nîmes heritage of the 19th century.

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