Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The house located Place Gambetta (former Dauphine Square) in Bordeaux is part of a major 18th century urban project. Around 1745, the intendant of Tourny launched the creation of this square on lands west of Dauphine and Dijeaux Gates, as part of a vast plan of sanitation and beautification of the city. The aim of the project was to structure urban space with harmonized buildings, reflecting the influence of the classical principles of the time.

In 1750, the Jurats of Bordeaux made a loan to finance the construction of the uniform facades of the houses surrounding the square. These buildings, designed with an arcade ground floor, a noble floor, an attic and an attic, had to follow a strict order. However, in 1762, a new architect proposed a simplified plan, removing the initial forebodies and balustrades to adopt a sober entanglement and a discreet brilliance. The square was only completed between 1770 and 1780, although its style remained representative of the first half of the 18th century.

Gambetta Square, rectangular, became a strategic crossroads where the main roads of the city converged. The buildings, made of cut stone, had remarkable architectural characteristics: arches with bosses on the ground floor, window doors decorated with mascarons and wrought iron balconies on the first floor, and sometimes a second floor. These elements illustrate the importance attached to aesthetics and symmetry in Bordeaux urban planning of the time.

The façade of the house at 24 Gambetta Square, as well as its roof, were classified by order of 15 July 1963. This classification underlines the heritage value of this architectural ensemble, a witness to the urban transformations initiated in the Enlightenment century. The exact location, although documented, remains approximate according to available sources, with an accuracy assessed as fair (note 5/10).

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