Bâtiments de la Société "Champagne de Castellane"

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

Champagne house created by Ludovic Girard in 1883. Overlooking the tracks of the Paris-Strasbourg railway, the first buildings were erected from 1889 onwards, whilst 6 km of galleries were dug into the limestone of the hill to serve as cellars. The factory was enlarged in 1904 by a storage building dominated by a tower constructed in reinforced concrete, intended to serve as a water tower. Tradition attributes this enlargement to Marius Toudoire, architect of the Gare de Lyon in Paris, whose clock tower is said to have served as a model for that of the Epernay factory. This factory, whose buildings combine industrial, commercial and advertising functions, is characterised by rich architectural decoration, alternating brick, stone and ceramic motifs. The factory chimney, in banded concrete, is adorned with winged victories and fauns. Panels of painted tiles announce the names of a few distant towns (New-York, Barcelona, Alexandria) in commercial relations with the house. The company, under the direction of Alexandre Mérard, adopted the name of the Castellane brand in 1936. Inside the central pavilion, a specially arranged room preserves the labels drawn for private clients.