Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Tribunes de l'hippodrome de la Canche, located in Touquet-Paris-Plage in the department of Pas-de-Calais, were built between January and August 1925. They are the work of architects Georges-Henri Pingusson and Paul Furiet, then young graduates. Pingusson, a major of the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 1920, merged the regionalist influences of his professor Gustave Umbdenstock with an Anglo-Norman style for the southern façade, and a pan-betonist approach for the northern façade, oriented towards the racing field and the Bay of Canche. The southern, more worldly, facade has wooden panels and gables, serving as a framework for betting and horse presentation.

The structure is distinguished by a large reinforced concrete awning, a technical feat for the time, covering the stands with a capacity of 1,500 seats. The gallery was inaugurated on 29 August 1925 at the same time as the racetrack, in the presence of 5,000 people and Paul Bénazet, High Commissioner for War, under the mandate of Mayor Léon Soucaret. The whole, built on the refilled bed of the Canche, is protected by a dam of 3 kilometers.

The two stands, of identical design, consist of coated reinforced concrete. Their side overlooking the track forms the steps, while the poster part, in picturesque style, features broken arcades and bays decorated with fake wooden panels. The stables, located at the entrance to the racetrack, complete this architectural ensemble. Since May 12, 1997, the weighing stand and the visitor gallery have been listed as historic monuments.

This project marks one of the first achievements of architects Pingusson and Furiet, illustrating their ability to combine tradition and modernity. The hippodrome, with its stands, embodies the development of seaside and sporting leisure in the 1920s, a period of tourist development for Le Touquet-Paris-Plage. The lateral facades, treated in the same picturesque style, reinforce the harmony of the whole, while the bold awning symbolizes the technical audacity of the interwar period.

External links