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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Bloch House is an emblematic building of the early 20th century architecture of the Nemenca, built between 1909 and 1910 in the 50 course Leopold. Sponsored by industrialist Auguste Bloch, specialized in food processing in Tomblaine, its construction was entrusted to architect Charles-Désiré Bourgon. This project is part of an urban island restructured at the beginning of the century, on a square dating from the late eighteenth. The house is distinguished by its eclectic style, marked by the influence of the École de Nancy, a local artistic movement advocating harmony between art and nature.

The interior of the Bloch house reveals exceptional craftsmanship, notably through the contributions of master glassmaker Jacques Gruber. He designed the windows of the dining room, decorated with plant motifs such as the honeysuckle, as well as the veranda. A marker fireplace, framed by stained glass windows, illustrates a Vosges landscape in Camaïeu, while the garden, built in the spirit of Art Nouveau, houses three factories: a gloriette (only the base remains), a rustic hut and a cave-fontaine. These elements reflect the organic aesthetic dear to Nancy School.

Ranked among the historical monuments since 2004, the Bloch house protects its facades, roofs, fireplace and windows, veranda, as well as the garden with its factories. Some furniture items, such as a glazed screen with Gruber stained glass windows representing a clematite and a pea money, or a window with a limousine and a rush, were auctioned in 1988. These dispersions testify to the original decorative richness of the place, now partially preserved.

The architect Charles-Désiré Bourgon (1855–1915), a local figure, signed the plans of this bourgeois residence, while Jacques Gruber (1870–1936), a painter-glass painter, left a lasting impression there. Their collaboration illustrates Nancy's artistic dynamism at the turn of the century, where industrialists and artisans combined their talents to create functional and aesthetic homes. The Bloch House thus embodies the alliance between industrial modernity and artisanal tradition, characteristic of the Lorraine of the time.

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