Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Gouffé furniture store, located at 46-48 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, was built in 1907 by architects Lesage and Charles Miltgen. Originally designed for the exhibition of the furniture of the Gouffé-jeune house, this iconic building from the 1st quarter of the 20th century is distinguished by its facade in iron and concrete panels, typical of architectural innovations of the time. The pilasters on the ground floor, covered with varnished bricks and surmounted by cast iron capitals, as well as a zenithically illuminated monumental staircase, reflect an industrial and functional aesthetic.

Ranked Historic Monument by order of 31 December 1992, the building (cadat 12:04 ER 45) is now owned by a private company and hosts cultural events. Its architecture, combining modern materials like concrete and decorative elements such as varnished bricks, testify to the evolution of commercial spaces at the beginning of the 20th century. The accuracy of its location is assessed as satisfactory a priori, with an address confirmed by the Merimée database.

The building embodies the development of the department stores specialized in Paris, a period when the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, a historic cabinetmaker and furniture artisan district, was modernizing. The joint use of metal structures and decorative elements in cast iron or varnished bricks illustrates the transition between traditional crafts and industrialization. Today, its cultural use perpetuates its role as an emblematic place of Parisian heritage, while adapting its function to contemporary uses.

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