Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Palais Mimard is an emblematic building of Saint-Étienne, built between 1893 and 1894 in a neo-Gothic style tinted with Italian neo-renaissance. Ordered by the ribbon manufacturer André-Thomas David, he is distinguished by his noble materials: Villebois stone for the base, brick and stone of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux for the floors. Its U-shaped plan, centered on the Place Anatole-France, incorporates a main body flanked by asymmetric wings, with a garden and a garage at the back. The entrance, accessible by a cochère door or vaulted porch, leads to a vestibule serving a wrought iron staircase and luxurious apartments, including that of the sponsor on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

Interior decoration, Art Nouveau inspiration, harmonic wooden furniture, Lyon fireplaces and floral motifs in windows. The winter garden, added in 1905 by architect Marcel Lamaizière for Étienne Mimard (director of Manufrance), combines apparent metal frame, yellow ceramic mosaics and visible bricks. This project reflects the alliance between industrialization and artistic refinement, characteristic of the stéphanois elite of the time. Local entrepreneurs made the big work, while Lyon and Parisian artisans provided decorative elements, such as Cabeauty's ironworks or Beauregard's chimneys.

Originally, the building housed a painting workshop for François David, the sponsor's son, before being transformed into a private hotel by Étienne Mimard. After 1947, he passed into the hands of his widow, then to the Manufacture Française d'Armes (Manufrance) in 1950. Today divided into dwellings, the Mimard Palace remains an exceptional testimony of the eclectic architecture of the late nineteenth century, marked by the influence of the Lamaizière, father and son. His inscription in the historical monuments in 1991 consecrated his heritage value, both for his style and for his connection to the industrial history of Saint-Étienne.

External links