Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hubaud Hotel is a former mansion located at 38 rue Longue-des-Capucins, in the 1st arrondissement of Marseille. Built in the first half of the 18th century, it illustrates the urban expansion of the city beyond its medieval ramparts, towards the east, especially around the Belsunce district. Its architecture, marked by rock and baroque influences, makes it a witness to the stylistic transformations of the era, with a facade decorated with mascarons and wrought ironwork.

The hotel was originally built between 1670 and 1688 by merchant Antoine Simon, on land purchased from the Lazarists, before being transformed in 1739 by Jean-Joseph Michel, Dean of the College of Physicians. The latter adds a facade decorated with a mascaron representing a woman's head, typical of the rock style. The house changed hands several times: it passed from the royal broker Barthélémy Boyer (died during the plague of 1721) to Jean-Joseph Michel, then was acquired in 1767 by Louis Hubaud, an oil merchant, who gave him his current name by placing his initials on the wrought iron balcony.

The Hubaud Hotel remained in the Hubaud family until 1937. Between 1940 and 1945, he welcomed the agency of architect Fernand Pouillon, before being partially registered with the Historical Monuments in 1943 (facades, roofs and staircase ramp). Since 2018, it has been home to an innovative cultural venue, combining art history library and coworking space, awarded in 2021 as "Cultural work of the year" by Le Méridional.

The hotel's portal, dating back to the 1740s, is distinguished by its decorative richness: splits, fleshy arabesques and massive masonry rounded in strong protruding, characteristic of an "insolent baroque". These elements, combined with its chiseled balcony, make it a remarkable example of the civil architecture of the eighteenth century Marseille. The building thus embodies both the social history of the city (market owners, doctors, architects) and its urban evolution.

The protections under the Historic Monuments refer specifically to facades on street and courtyard, roofs, as well as the staircase ramp, highlighting the heritage value of its interior and exterior decorations. Today, the Hubaud Hotel combines heritage preservation and cultural dynamism, offering a space dedicated to research and creation in art history.

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