Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The temple of La Petite Étoile came into being in 1868 when Pastor Eugène Bersier founded a hall of worship on Avenue de la Grande-Armée in Paris. In 1874, this place became the Protestant temple of the Star. At the end of the 19th century, the Protestant community extended to Levallois-Perret, where a first building was erected in 1897 on Rue Anatole-France. Pastor Henri Monnier, detached from the Parisian temple, develops an autonomous church there, marking the beginning of a sustainable local settlement.

Between 1911 and 1912, architect Charles Letrosne built the current building, inaugurated on December 1, 1912. The temple adopts a plan in Latin cross, with a wooden frame inspired by Northern Europe and a foundation in millstone. The stencil paintings, attributed to Émile Menu, adorn the interior with floral motifs, while an organ signed Mutin completes the layout. In the same year, a social residence, the Foyer du Jeune Homme (future Résidence de la Petite Étoile), was built to house active young people and single-parent families.

Ranked a historic monument on September 8, 1995, the temple is distinguished by its flamboyant neo-Gothic architecture and its original furniture intact. Its urban integration includes offices and housing in the angles left empty by the cruciform plan. Since 1937, the Anatole France metro station (line 3) has served the site, facilitating access to this emblematic religious place of Franciscan Protestantism.

The building illustrates the evolution of the reformed communities in the Paris suburbs, mixing religious heritage, architectural innovation and social commitment. Its interior decoration, stained glass windows and square arrow surmounted by a metallic cross make it a rare testimony of the sacred art of the early twentieth century in Île-de-France.

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