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Origin and history

The Auteuil substation is an industrial building located at 2 bis rue Michel-Ange, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Built in 1912 by architect Paul Friesé for the Paris Metropolitan Railway Company, it is part of a network of substations designed to supply electricity to the metro. Its architecture combines a silico-calcar brick structure and a glass-paned façade, characteristic of the industrial buildings of the period.

Inside, the substation housed until the mid-20th century a engine room equipped with four switches. These devices converted the high-voltage alternating current provided by the Saint-Denis thermal power station into low-voltage DC current compatible with the metro trains. This system has helped fuel the metropolitan network since its inauguration in 1900, playing a key role in its expansion.

The Auteuil substation is one of the best preserved in this series, alongside the Voltaire substation (11th arrondissement, unprotected). Still operated by RATP, it was registered as historical monuments by order of 7 April 1992, thereby recognizing its heritage and technical value. Its facade on street (cadastre 16: 01 AN 35) is specifically protected.

This building is part of a series of similar infrastructures built in Paris for the needs of the metro or the Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d'Electricité. Its functional architecture and state of conservation make it a rare testimony to industrial history and urban transport in the early twentieth century.

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