Timeline

Heritage classified

Origin and history

The house Léon, located 54-56 quai Duperré in La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine), is a building built between the 15th and 19th centuries, with major parts dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. Organised around a central courtyard, it consists of several building bodies with heights of cut stone. The anterior body, with two square floors and an additional floor, has an unordered facade and an interior wooden staircase, while the posterior bodies, also on two floors, once had crusillon windows. An extraordinary tower houses a screw staircase serving these wings.

The façade preserves remains of Louis XIII decoration, including two 16th century windows, two chimeras and a circular staircase turret. The terrace, equipped with a 17th century balustrade, overlooks houses whose low parts, modified in the 17th century, incorporate a gallery with balusters added later. The west wing and the possible extension of the tower date from the 19th century, while minor transformations were carried out in the 20th century. The whole, partially protected, was inscribed in historical monuments by decree of 28 October 1926, covering specifically the facade at the back of the courtyard with its gallery, porch and staircase turret.

The architecture of Leon House illustrates the evolution of styles between Renaissance and classical times, with successive redevelopments reflecting the residential and aesthetic needs of later periods. Its location on the Duperré wharf, in the historic center of La Rochelle, highlights its integration into an urban fabric marked by maritime commerce and the influence of local elites. The preserved decorative elements, such as chimeras or balusters, bear witness to the prestige associated with this type of dwelling in modern times.

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