Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Guimard building of the Pré Saint-Gervais station, located at Boulevard Sérurier in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, is a metro access designed in 1900 by the architect Hector Guimard for the Compagnie du Métropolitain. This historic monument, registered in 1978 and later in 2016, is distinguished by its Art Nouveau style and its 1920s Val d'Osne mast, rare on the network. It marked the entrance of a station inaugurated on 18 January 1911 as a terminus of line 7, before becoming in 1967 the terminus of line 7 bis.

The Pré Saint-Gervais station, designed with a central dock and two lanes under an elliptical vault, played a major technical role in the history of the Paris metro. By 1921, it was connected to Line 3 bis by a Shuttle Way, now partially transformed into a workshop. Its edicle, one of five associated with a totem of a different architectural style, illustrates the evolution of metro entrances, between modernity and preservation of heritage.

Modernized after 1988 with the Oui-dire decorative style (white tile, blue lighting), the station retains original elements such as the bevelled tile of the Shuttle Way. Not very frequented (365,930 passengers in 2013), it remains a testimony of the technical adaptations of the network, particularly for the maintenance of MF 88 equipment. Its access, equipped with lifts and stairs with Motte seats, also reflects the constraints of its depth.

The Guimard edicle, owned by RATP, is part of a set of Guimard's protected achievements for the Paris metro. Its location at the outlet of the rue du Pré-Saint-Gervais, near the eponymous door leading to the neighbouring town, highlights its territorial anchor. The proposed merger of lines 3 bis and 7 bis could change its terminus status, integrating the Haxo ghost station into the network.

Ranked among the network's least frequented, Pré Saint-Gervais embodies both an architectural heritage and a complex operational history. Its edicle, combining cast iron and enamelled lava, and its mast Val d'Osne make it a unique example of the Guimard style entrances, while its technical configuration (terminal loop, workshop) reveals the logistical challenges of the Parisian metro in the 20th century.

External links