Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Maison des Arbalétriers, located in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, was built in the early 19th century as a dryer for a manufacture of painted canvases. This 9.5-metre-high frame building was designed to optimize ventilation thanks to windshafts and a high roof. It is the only remaining vestige of this flourishing industrial activity, linked to the proximity of the Croult, a river essential for washing and printing operations.

The origin of this place dates back to 1772, when Rodolphe Ebinger, a former Oberkampf worker, founded a fabric factory. At the time of the Revolution, he acquired a garden adjacent to an old leather factory to erect this dryer, later called "House of the Arbaletriers". Rehabilitated in 1985, the building was classified as a Historic Monument for its facades and roofs, and now houses a café-restaurant in its interior space.

The monument illustrates the industrial heritage of Saint-Denis, a city marked by craftsmanship and the transformation of raw materials. Its utility architecture, adapted to the technical needs of the time, reflects the ingenuity of 19th-century manufacturers. Today private property, there remains a rare testimony of this period, combining historical heritage and contemporary reuse.

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