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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The building of La Loire Républicaine is an emblematic building of Saint-Étienne, built between 1907 and 1908 in an eclectic style to house the newspaper of the same name, founded in 1885. Designed by architects Léon Lamaizière (chief architect of the city) and his son Marcel, it is distinguished by a facade decorated with symbols of writing (plum, ink, notebook), carved by the Induni brothers. The building, rectangular, separates the representation spaces (place Jean-Jaurès) and the printing workshops (at the back, spanning the Furan). Materials used include Villebois limestone, local sandstone, and Hennebique reinforced concrete for foundations.

The history of the site dates back to 1844, where Claude Baloffet, a wine merchant, erected warehouses. In 1876, the ground floor houses Woller's café, then the Schaber brewery in 1886. Demolished in 1906, these buildings give way to the Lamaizière project for La Loire Républicaine, commissioned by director Wagner. Printing works until 1978. In 2004, the Prefecture of the Loire bought the premises and rehabilitated them (2006-2007) to make them an annex, while retaining the seat of La Tribune-Le Progrès, successor of the original newspaper.

Ranked a historic monument in 1991 for its facades and roofs, the building illustrates the golden age of the Stephanese press and industrial architecture of the early twentieth century. Its sculpted decoration, allegory of the journalistic profession, and its innovative structure (armed concrete) make it a unique testimony of the local heritage. The Induni brothers, sculptors, left a lasting artistic imprint, while the Lamaizières applied their urbanist expertise, characteristic of Saint-Étienne at that time.

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