Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The house located at 58 rue de la Gare in Châteauroux, built in the last quarter of the 19th century, is part of the commercial and demographic development of the city. This neighborhood, structured around the station, illustrates the industrial development of Châteauroux at that time. Three houses on this street, including this one, carry complex windows realized by the Compagnon Charpentier Hippolyte Moreau, known as Berry-la-Conscience (1822-1900), a renowned local entrepreneur.

Hippolyte Moreau, a member of the Devoir de Compagnonnage under the symbolic name Bon Drille du Tour de France, designed these structures as a demonstration of his know-how, accumulated during his Tour de France. Together with his son-in-law Armand Viraud, a public works contractor, he marked Châteauroux's major construction sites in the last decades of the 19th century. The skylights at 58 rue de la Gare, including a circular crib-biased capucine and a torso arrow, embody his mastery of the line (geometrical trace of volumes) and companion symbols (U.V.G.T.: Union, Vertu, Geometry, Work).

Classified as a Historical Monument in 1999 for its facades and roofs, this house also bears witness to the polychrome aesthetics of the period, mixing slates and zinc imitating decorative motifs. The attices, with bold shapes (pyramides, curved arêtiers, spears) reflect the technical and artistic ingenuity of the carpenters' companions. The central body of the building, with its covered passage, also highlights the adaptation of architecture to emerging urban needs.

The location accuracy is considered satisfactory (note 7/10), with an address confirmed by the Merimée bases and approximate GPS coordinates. Protected elements include facades and roofs, cadastral under plots BN 1007, 1008, and 193. No information is available on its current accessibility (visit, rental, or accommodation).

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